Scorpio's Legacy
by BlackenedAsh24
Summary: A young mid-western gamer goes on a camping trip with his friends one October and is thrown against his will into the Mass Effect Universe 12 years before Eden Prime. Follow Scorpio as he fights to find a way to survive over a decade of strife, try to find the truth behind his Legacy, and possibly find companionship in a young Prothean researcher on the way. (Scorpio/?) SI
1. Death's Touch

A/N This is something I've been working on for a LONG time. I originally started writing it back in November 2013, but I could never build up the courage to finally get an account at and get it out there until now so it's a bit old. Hopefully its still good! This is my attempt at a Mass Effect SI. Please Read &amp; Review, I can take anything you throw at me!

(Revised as of 9-22-14)

* * *

"I would've never thought the impossible to exist, it's impossible for a reason right?" My mother said while bringing a speared head of broccoli to her mouth.

I look at her in absolute amusement, she always had a closed-minded view of the world, always pessimistic and paranoid. I myself am a bit more open-minded so I stop eating for a second and stare at her as if she had just turned into a bird and started squawking that the_ 'British were Chinese'_. She ignores me so I scoff and go back to my food.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see my dad ignoring both of us in favor of nursing his glass of water so no-one disturbs his nice meal. He was an army man, he did three tours in Iraq and decided to come home after the last one, that was almost a year ago.

_ He's the bravest person I've known in my short life and the only thing that scares him more than terrorists... is his wife._

"Honey, could you pass the salt?" He asks his wife even though the salt was closer to me. He wanted to end any future debates between she and I, but mother saw right thorough him like always.

"Do you realize that ignoring your only son isn't the best way to re-start your relationship with him?" She sneers more than states after nearly stabbing her fork onto the table in rage.

I look up from my plate just in time to see my father blink and look at me almost ashamed. I turn and scowl at her, she always played to his emotions and it wasn't funny. Not one bit.

"Uh, son? Could you pass the salt?" He looks extremely uncomfortable at this point, why wouldn't he? He's never had to go up against mom-zilla before and he wasn't trained to deal with an angry house-wife in the army.

"Sure dad." I hand him the salt and smile at him to try to alleviate his nervousness. He just nods and goes back to eating quietly.

...

...

"So, how was your day?" We look up and see mother staring at both of us, we pretend to not hear her and go back to our meals.

_It's been really awkward since my father came home. I like him and completely understand who he is as an introvert, I'm one as well, but my mother believes that isn't enough and forces us to be involved in the family. Hell before he came home we didn't even have dinner at the kitchen table! Then all of a sudden she expects us to be this perfect family as soon as he arrives._

I shake my head as I chew my steak.

_I've been eating where I'm comfortable for seven years and she just expects it all to be erased over night._

I sigh as I finally finish up my meal, dad looks at me and I can see in his eyes he wishes he could leave as well. He shouldn't have to suffer through these things.

Finally I look opposite of him and glare daggers at my mother as she takes a bite of toast. I catch her in the eye and she freezes, I had an extremely dangerous glare and she hated that it almost surpassed her own. She puts the toast down after a few second and continues chewing while not backing down or blinking. We continue this battle of wills. A lion against a mother bear.

I look out of the corner of my eye and see my dad start to shift uncomfortably as he chews his meal.

_Poor guy._

This goes on for about seven minutes until she finishes eating and can fully glare back. Her eyebrows crease in concentration and her eyes spell murder, by her own definition she could stare down a gunman without anyone getting hurt with that look, and I believed her for much of my life.

I smirk at her as her eye starts twitching from lack of moisture.

_Until I found my own glare. I've been told it's like staring down the barrel of a gun that's pressed against your forehead and you hear a click, right before it fires._

Dad looks between us like we're the two alpha wolves about to fight over who could lead the pack, and he isn't far off from the truth. We always fight, no matter what I always fight with her. I redouble my efforts as her eye stops twitching.

_I have time, I always have time and she knows it. She on the other hand is very impatient._

She growls and finally blinks as she throws her hands into the air in frustration, "Fine! We don't have to eat at the table anymore! All I wanted was a nice family get together for all of us to share our day's events like a normal family, but apparently that's too much to ask for!"

I deepen my glare, "You do realize that we're extremely uncomfortable eating in public? So eating in front of each-other isn't going to be any better?" I try to explain like usual.

She scoffs and pushes her chair back fast enough for it to fall over and crash against the tile of the kitchen floor two meters back. "Fine! Then you can both just go back to your caves! I'm done! If you two don't want to talk to me then both of you can just fuck off!" She turns to leave, but just stands there for a moment. Dad goes to speak but I raise a hand to stop him and he slouches in his seat to pick at the rest of his meal. Finally, mother stomps off to her own room and slams the door, leaving us in silence.

She was thrown out of her house at sixteen by her parents and forced to work three jobs to survive until she met dad. So psychologically she developed an idea that if someone doesn't like her or if someone gets too close to her then she was going to get hurt, which AUTOMATICALLY meant her life meant nothing. Over the years it's manifested into paranoia and bitterness towards everyone outside of her house and work. Hell, it took two years for dad to convince her that he wasn't abandoning her by joining the army! I'm studying to be a psychologist and like to analyze people so that's what I've observed.

_I love her as my mother, but she has a lot of unresolved psychological issues._

Dad sighs as he stands, "I'll go talk to her when she calms down. I am a bit curious about how your day went though."

I blink and shoot my eyebrows up to my hair-line to stretch out my face from the strain of glaring for twelve minutes straight.

_Damn, how the hell does my face not freeze permanently like that?_

I look over to him sadly, "It was normal, a bit weird in the driving department, but overall I can't complain."

He nods and finishes his water before we both collect our plates and head to the sink.

"Yeah, same here, I'm not sure why but it seems like all the slow drivers just pop out of the woodworks around four." I nod in agreement and we walk over to the kitchen and start washing the dishes like usual.

It seems like this happens every night. We come home to relax and enjoy a meal and it turns into family share time, then a fight between me and mother breaks out that turns into her going to her room or ordering me to go to mine, and on the nights that she goes to her room David, I call my dad David, and I end up talking about how our day was once we finish our respectable meals. THAT is the daily dinner routine of our family, I think its pretty normal for our living situation. At least we aren't out on the street or in massive debt. My mother's paranoia is perfect for dealing with car dealers, bankers, sales people, pretty much anyone trying to sell something goes under her scrutiny until they break.

_It's just who she is I guess._

We finish washing the dishes and dry them before putting them away like usual. I nod to him and he nods to me, just a mutual respect between two adults.

I already told him I hatted being called 'son' or 'kid' or 'boy' so we stick to names when in private and switch back to appease mother whenever she's around. Even if it makes us feel uncomfortable.

_I'm nineteen for god sakes! I have a job! I pay rent! I'm going to College! I don't need to come home to being called a demeaning nickname out of tradition._

We walk down the hall and towards our own rooms. We stop at the crossroads and he turns to me to say his usual goodbye, "Goodnight Dylan."

I nod to him with my hand on my door handle, "Goodnight David." He smiles when I say his name and we close the doors behind us, we knew what we liked to do, and it wasn't _bonding_.

_He has his sports and TV programming, I have my gaming and Internet connection. _

We're more like neighbors the way we act around each-other and we're absolutely fine with that approach.

I sigh and plop down onto my small twin-sized bed and bounce a bit before slowing enough to grab my controller. I had paused my newest game-play of Mass Effect 3 to go to dinner expecting to come back to eat in my own small room/apartment while I fire off another mission for the Reaper war. Only I got trapped like usual and was forced to eat in the dining room when I saw David sitting there.

_I would've just ran when I saw her setting the table but I couldn't leave David there alone. She caught him right at the door, still in his work clothes like usual. He taught me never to leave a brother behind in a warzone. This might not be what he meant when he said it, but it definitely seems to apply none-the-less.  
_

I shake the memories away and look around my room with a calculating glance.

_It really is more of an apartment, there's a bedroom and a bathroom all to my own liking that I kept maintained. Even my own small walk-in closet that I turned into a converted home office for my school work. Huh, I'm still surprised I managed to fit a desk AND my swivel chair in that small 1.5 square meter space.__ All in all it's more of a small dorm room now that I think about it. __GOD I would've HATTED a roommate._

I let my hands set into their natural positions on my Xbox 360 wireless controller and smile as a comfortably familiar feeling of control sets in.

_I love gaming, it gives me a sense of false accomplishment that keeps me from remembering... certain things._

I check the journal on the pause menu to see where I was.

_Cerberus Station... oh I'm trying to kill Kai Leng on insanity. This should be just perfect._ _If I ever meet him in real life I'm going to murder that son of a bitch without a second thought. He causes too much death and destruction to be allowed to live. And if I want to kill him out-right then he's so far beyond the tipping point that I don't even care about his well being, which is really saying something since I really hate killing sentient beings, real or otherwise._

I shake my head clear and focus, this was going to take everything my Adept Shepard's got up his sarcastic cyberneticly enhanced sleeves. I un-pause the game and quickly dive into cover behind some hardware in the blown out floor and order Liara and Javik to do the same as three phantoms drop from the ceiling...

* * *

"There! Holy GOD! I finally finished Mass Effect 3 on INSANITY!" I nearly chuck my controller into the ceiling as I throw my arms up in excited elation. The Synthesis DLC ending starts to role and I lay back down onto my bed to think about how many enemies I had to flare to death during the missile part just before the final push to the beam.

_I can still hear the screams of eight banshees cornering me and barely getting a hydra missile in to stall them before the sweet sweet sound of Joker's voice hit my radio and I could dash past four brutes and to the beam controls just as my health nearly hit it's last bar from all the banshees throwing a warp blast at me simultaneously. Man that was intense, and my Turtle Beach head-set made it so life-like that I nearly shit myself when I heard those Banshee's coming after me._

I shiver as I remember the sound of multiple screeches echoing across the map as I killed another brute with a biotic explosion. "That would be WAY beyond anything I could _ever_ do." Looking at the TV, I watch just in time to see Liara place Shepard's name on the memorial wall on the crew deck of the Normandy.

_I really hate that Shepard has to die through nearly every ending. I mean, you'd think he/she would find a way to defeat the Reapers without the Crucible, maybe an ancient super-weapon the Protheans made that blew up stars or something?_

I scoff, "Yeah, like that's even possible. What's it going to look like, a huge cannon?"

I sigh and click the option after the credits to go to the main menu.

_Today was a great day._

*beep*

I raise an eyebrow at the familiar sound of my IPhone getting a new message and pull it out. _"What you doing?"_ I check the sender and smile as I see it was from Dell.

Dell was one of four people from my high-school that could actually stand to be around me for more then two minutes without flipping out and chucking textbooks.

_God do History books hurt! Why do they have to be so heavy?!_

Unlocking my IPhone I laugh a little at the _Dragon Age_ Tali wielding sharp dueling swords and looking menacing like usual.

_I always liked anything and everything about Mass Effect, even if it references other equally awesome games._

Opening the texting app I use to save minutes I send a response to Dell, _"Not really anything, You?"_

We call him Dell since his real name was _Delesh _and nearly impossible to pronounce perfectly so we just gave him a nickname, he_ hates_ it.

*beep*

I look at his instantaneous text. _"Me and the guys were going to go out camping around the Great lakes."_

His texting skills were legendarily fast. He could text an 8000 word book report in half an hour if he ever cared to.

I blink and look outside to see it's pitch black, _"Right now?!" _

*beep*

_"Oh god no! We were going to pack up and leave tomorrow, you wanna come?"_

I groan and stare at his text. I really didn't want to loose more gaming time, but he was usually REALLY persistent when planning activities.

_I remember one time when he somehow convinced me to set off every cell phone in our high-school with one group text! The school bellowed in a melody of swearing teachers and hundreds of chirps, rings, and short songs for an hour as the text looped! It was hilarious! Well, until they tracked the text back to us and we were suspended. Ahh the good old days..._

_"Sure, what time we leaving?_ I text back reluctantly.

*beep*

_I have really got to deactivate the alerts on this app, these beep's are getting frustrating._

_"Woah! Who is this? I thought the legendary Scorpio would have put up more of a fight! HAHA! I'll pick you up at seven, your in charge of the lighter fluid and I know you have a freakishly awesome memory, but please don't forget OK?" _

I scowl, He knows not to bring that up! "_GOD when are you going to stop it with the Scorpio business!" _I text angrily._  
_

_"When it stops being funny! ;)"  
_

I cringe. It wasn't funny not one bit. I toss my phone onto my bed and lay back as the memories of that day start to come back slowly.

_How long is that incident going to haunt me?!_

I blink as my solipsism starts to blur my vision in favor of that terrible day... "Oh great..."

* * *

And just like that I was back in the old high-school library after dark on the night it happened.

_I feel... strange. Like I'm still working tirelessly on that Geology poster that was due the next day, glue sticking to my fingers. *shivers* Oh man I hate doing this._

'Why I don't use more tape is beyond me.' Memory me thought as he wiped the dried glue off his hands and onto a napkin nearby.

"Dylan, the Library is closing." He looks up in surprise to see the elderly Mrs. Hershal, as barely alive as she ever was, standing there with a cracked smile on her thin lips and a few over-due library books in her hands.

Memory me nods and starts to put away the supplies. "How she's still alive is beyond me." I hear myself mutter as she turned and walked out of ear-shot towards her small desk near the exit.

He looks down at his wrist and frown, 'When am I going to start wearing a watch?' I hear myself think.

_This is going to be vivid as hell like usual, I can already tell._

The vision blurs and I mentally shake my head to clear it up. I look around and see that I'm outside the high-school now, walking towards the parking lot. I can feel myself holding my Geology poster under my right arm and I can see myself tossing my car keys up into the air and catching them to a rhythm I can barely recall. Then I hear myself whistling a tune and focus on it for a moment before it clicks and I remember that I was whistling Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.

_It's such a great song-_

"Help!"

I stop and drop my poster into a puddle from the leftover rain that fell that evening and feel myself struggle to catch my car keys. "Damn it." I could feel my brow furrow as I pick up the ruined poster sadly.

I mentally freeze as I remember what this moment was.

Memory me looks around for who called for help.

_Why couldn't I see her? It was a clear night! I could have stopped it! I never wanted any of this to ever happen!_

I watch helpless from my position as my memory self shrugs and continues on. I feel myself pick up the tune again and keep walking, oblivious to the attempted rape of my two year younger than me 16 year old cousin mere meters away.

_Oh Sarah, I am so sorry..._

"Mmmffff!"

I stop, that one was absolutely as plain as day. Memory me sets his backpack that held my IPhone and dagger down by the curb to search for the source of the noise.

_That won't help what's going to happen next. I've already thought through everything going to happen and I couldn't find anything else I could have done differently, it still just pisses me off that I couldn't prevent it!_

Sneaking into the bushes I hear myself gasp and I pay attention to the horrific scene before me. My brunette-haired, crystal-blue eyed cousin Sarah was lying face down in the grass with her pants torn off and a fat fuck of a pig holding her down as he raped her from behind. I mentally tear myself away and focus on everything but the terrible anguish and terror I could feel bleed through from the memory.

Sarah starts to cry, I can hear her soft innocent voice just...

_No, No I don't want to see this!_

I try and skip ahead or end the memory, but it's useless, I can't escape reliving it.

Memory me shakes in shock and horror as the sick scene unfolded before him. I feel tears start to slip from my eyes in the memory and focus as I remembered how torn I was. I see that somehow the... Rapist had gagged Sarah and I could feel the pure anger and hatred build in my heart as she pushes her face into the ground and somehow shakes her gag free. She turns her head to me and I can see the hopelessness that was in her terrified eyes, she screams, "HELP!"

The tears stop and the light in her eyes darken as the Rapist punches her in the back of the head, knocking her into the ground and completely unconscious. I remember that I thought she'd died then and there. My little cousin...

_This is the part where I finally decide between fight or flight and I feel something snap inside of me._

I feel myself stop crying as a purely primal rage bursts from my heart as Memory me clenches his teeth in pure anger. I watch myself scowl as deeply as I could and dig my fingernails into my palms so forcefully that I dug under the skin.

I had never been that angry before in my life, A growl escapes my throat and I watch myself focus on the sick freak raping the girl I thought of like a sister.

I watch myself stand and sprint at him in an adrenaline-induced run and cringe as I feel myself slamming my entire body into his side, throwing both of us back and into a roll down the hill just behind the high-school and into a nearby recreational pond build by my father when he attended the school decades prior.

_I've gone over this so many times I can recite the exact temperature the water was when we fell in, fifty three degrees Fahrenheit._

The shockingly cold water hits me and I feel myself freeze while looking around through the murky water before my instincts kick in and I resurface. I hear myself gasp for air and follow my eye-sight to the Rapist a few feet away. I feel my eyes widen in shock as memory me sees a glint of metal in the man's left hand.

Somehow I got a good kick in and knock him away before he could stab me with the large hunting knife.

I let the memory play and feel myself swim to shore as my adrenaline spikes again and climb away from the danger and back up the hill from before.

I see myself look back and gasp in even more fright that the man was quickly following me. I pick up my pace with new determination and run up the hill as he follows me, I sprint to my backpack and struggle with my damn broken zipper I kept forgetting to fix. Looking up I see him not three seconds away and in a moment of panic I threw my poster at him to distract him the soaking wet paper cylinder hits him in the face, staggering him just long enough for me to break my zipper open and rip my personal dagger I kept in-case of muggings out of its holder.

_If I could have called the police I would have, but he was just too quick._

I had been trained by my dad in knife combat between deployments so I automatically spun the eight inch curved dagger around so the backside of the blade was against my forearm and held it out to block a swipe from the Rapist. I hear the two daggers clang together and I see myself stagger back from the strength of the man's attack.

I use the momentum to jump back and plant my feet before diving back into the duel. I cut upwards while moving out of the way of one of his lunges. I could feel my dagger cut deeply into his shoulder, scraping against his collar bone. I roll forwards and turn to see him kneeling over, his right arm bleeding badly. I can remember that I felt sorry for him for a split second before dropping into a defensive position as he puts his blade into his left hand and jumps back into the fight.

I spun my dagger in my right hand and watch him for a second, that's when I saw a slight limp in his left leg, he was going to work on quick jabs to compensate.

I watch Memory me hold his dagger in his left hand and rush forwards, he ducks under the Rapist's swipe and slides with his dagger to cut a gash into the Rapist's left leg, forcing the man to yell out a curse I can't remember.

I quickly turn to see the man fall fully to his knees and pant at the exertion. I feel myself smile as he turns his head to glare at me, his dark hardened blue eyes stood out from the calm evening. He smiles and I watch him in confusion. Then out of nowhere he chucks a rock at me, I hit the ground and barely miss it hitting me.

Memory me swallows and jumps up to find the Rapist running away, I feel myself pause and try to decide what to do before my muscles tighten and a shear fear jumps into my heart. He was running towards Sarah! I couldn't get to him in time. I almost give up but then out of a moment of inspiration I put the dagger in my right hand, spin it around to hold onto the tip of the blade and quickly tossed it as accurately as I could at the sprinting Rapist. Time stopped as I watched the blade fly through the air, spinning, spinning, until...

"AHHHHHHHH!" The dagger embeds perfectly into the spine of the sick man. I feel myself smile with elation as he falls to the ground and stops moving.

_That was always an awesome throw to watch._

I watch myself walk cautiously up to and crouch next to the guy to see exactly where my dagger hit. It hit just between his shoulders, and was deeply embedded in his spine. I remember myself silently chuckling at how lucky a toss it was, any lower and he would have still had mobility in his arms, any higher and it would have killed him outright. I watch myself grasp the bloody hilt of the dagger and yank it out violently, the man whimpers at the sound of the blade scraping bone just before I notice he finally passes out from the pain.

Memory me stands, bloodied dagger clenched in his right fist as the blood continued to seep from the Rapists severe wounds and he just stands there, watching for a second to process what he just did. When he does a wide smile grows across his bloodied face and I can feel the pure bliss in my mind at that moment. I just stand there, and continue to watch him bleed out without doing anything to help.

_I will never forgive myself for that._

My vision blurs and I can feel myself coming out of the solipsism...

* * *

When my sight returns to normal I'm still laying in my bed, IPhone off to the side, Xbox 360 controller in my hands. "I haven't had that intense a flashback since the court-date." I shake my head and shiver as the last feelings of elation bleed from my consciousness. I lower my head in shame at what I did.

_ I never wanted any of that to happen._

I think back to what happened next and a shiver runs down my spine.

_I just stood there for twenty minutes until Sarah woke up and found me smiling down at the rapist's bloody corpse. I watched him bleed out... I watched him die..._

I shake my head and let the last lingering thoughts of the incident bleed from my mind.

_Thank whatever absent god was there that night that Sarah lived. I would have lost it if she hadn't. She even got lucky and developed PTSAD (Post Traumatic Stress Amnesia Disorder). She couldn't remember a thing._

Unfortunately for me I developed a type of enhanced memory ability from it, so I could never forget it. I've always had a great memory, but it was nowhere near what I have now. I can remember anything and everything, but only if I want to remember it. I could repress memories if I concentrated enough. The doctors and Neurological Specialists I've gone to named it PTSSEMED (Post Traumatic Stress Selective Eidetic Memory Enhancement Disorder).

_It's nice to put a name behind being essentially forced into solipsism whenever something reminds you of your cousin getting raped and you brutally killing the man who did it._

I sigh and just lay there as the next few weeks after the incident flood my mind.

_They didn't arrest me since I was a minor at the time, barely, just by a few days. I remember how terrible I felt when I was sentenced to 600 hours community service and a $2000 fine my parents had to pay._

A scowl grows across my face, "600hrs for killing a man! How is that justice?!" I toss my controller across the room and cringe as it hit the wall and bounces back to hit the carpet and nearly come to rest at my old Xbox. I scramble over and quickly inspect it for damage. I sigh as I find it miraculously undamaged and start to get ready for bed.

They nicknamed me Scorpio, they thought it was going to be a way for me to rationalize the incident better. I sigh and shake my head in slight disgust, they got the idea from the bloodied the shirt I had worn that night. The shirt used as evidence that I never got back, it was a completely black T-shirt with a silver scorpion on the front and back. I used to love that shirt.

I throw my shirt and jeans into the hamper near the bathroom door and walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I pick up the green and blue electric tooth-brush and put the right amount of toothpaste onto it.

_I never wanted that to happen and everyone praises me for saving Sarah and killing the terrible man._

I look at myself in the mirror and see the aged appearance my tired brown eyes gave me.

_I'm nineteen and I look like I'm in my early thirties because of that one day._

I sigh and activate my electric tooth-brush and start brushing.

_I couldn't sleep for a year after I found out the man had a family, he had a wife, and two daughters! What right did I have to take his life away?!_

I finish up and rinse the last of the toothpaste out of my mouth before shaking my head and walking back into my bedroom. I grab my blanket and jump into bed, letting my head rest comfortably against the soft pillow.

"I need to get to sleep and if I keep thinking about it I'm never going to sleep again." I whisper before finally turning off the one lamp I kept on next to my bed and closing my eyes to try and get at least four hours before the nightmares returned. "Maybe I'll dream of Mass Effect, and killing Kai Leng..."

* * *

**Blood smeared across the cement, the pavement wet from a light rain as the red liquid runs down the hard ground separating it from the sidewalk and seeps into a nearby drainage culvert, drip... drip... drip... drip. The night is cold, so cold that the fallen tears of an innocence lost is hardly known against the light dew frozen to the tips of freshly grown grass, and among it all is a girl, a young girl covered in the life-blood of her victim, the first victim...**

* * *

*HOOONK!* My tired eyes crack open at the sharp noise.

_Whatever it is it just saved me from reliving another nightmare._

I groan as I leave the nice warm comfort of my bed to investigate the noise. I look out my window and see a van, no an SUV, and it's over-filled with... camping supplies?

"Oh right, the camping trip." I yawn and rub the sleep from my eyes before shaking myself awake and starting my morning routine.

Ten minutes later I'm finished showering, shaving, and performing my basic oral hygiene. I look at myself in the mirror and worry that even one of these dreams are going to come true, but shake the thought away as I get dressed in the usual. Jeans and a dark gray shirt. Next I grab my charging IPhone and back-up 5th gen Ipod touch before throwing on my black and gray coat while slipping on my black and gray _Nike_ sneakers.

_The doctors say that a routine and familiarity helps people like me forget their past, I just do it because I like doing things a certain way._

Walking to my bedroom door I stop at my key rack and grab my dagger from its place next to the ring for the Chevy. I look at it for a moment. The slight curve in the eight inch long millimeter-thick compressed plate titanium-alloy blade, the black custom-made grip installed over the thin hilt that balanced the dagger perfectly while fitting my exact hand print perfectly as I gripped it, the strangely comforting Prothean symbols I carved into the blade itself to make it look more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

_The dagger will never rust, never break, and holds an infinite amount of personal memories. So many that every time I hold it I have to consciously repress them to concentrate on the here and now._

The doctors said that having something to remind me of that night will only worsen my condition, I disagreed and we debated constantly on my mental stability until I just stopped going to check-ups and refilling the terrible narcotics they kept prescribing for me.

_If I have to learn to live with the past, then repressing it with drugs isn't going to help, I need to confront it and fight to control it. Otherwise I'm just weak and truly insane._

Turning the dagger around in my hand I sigh tiredly as my eyes land on the scorpion that was inscribed into the butt of the hilt.

_The only thing that I love more than how perfect this dagger is, is my family. Sadly nothing I can do will change any of thi-_

*HONK* *HONK* *HONK!*

I whip my head towards the window and realize I was lost in my thoughts for about three minutes. "God damn it." I strap the holster for it onto my belt and sheath it in its place before rushing through the house on _'ghost feet'_.

_That's what my parents named my freakish ability to walk without making any noise around the house, it really scares them that I could come and go without them even knowing it. Especially since I don't really leave my room unless I'm hungry or, well, need to go to school and... that's just about it._

I take a quick side-trip through the camping supplies cabinet in the porch to get two cans of lighter fluid before practically jumping through the front door and nearly running over Terry as she reaches for the doorbell. I wrap my arms around her and spin us around so I land on my back instead of her getting her glasses broken, scratched, or anything like that. She stares at me in shock as we lay there on the driveway. Finally she brushes some of her short auburn hair behind her ear and says, "I-I was wondering when you were getting up." She smiles shyly and stands to hold out a hand to help me up.

"Thanks. I overslept, for once in my life." She nods and I smile as she pulls me up from the ground.

I look her over for any scuffs. I quickly check her black jeans and tan sneakers before looking over her fuzzy gray sweater and seeing the stitching in the right shoulder was loose, besides that everything seemed to be in order. She's been spending a bit too much time indoors again too since she's almost as white as the snow, her soft complexion only changed by a light patch of freckles around her nose.

_If Female Shepard wore glasses and home-made sweaters then Terry would be her exact twin._

"Ahem." We turn to see Dell standing there, arms crossed over his burgundy leather jacket he's had all throughout high-school, faded jeans still ripped in his left knee from an incident with his weed-waker two years ago, his short black hair shimmering from his obsession with oiling it to make him look like the lead character from _Grease. _He was of Italian decent so he could pull the look off, we still gave him shit for it though. "If you two are about done we need to get moving." We walk down the drive, Terry leans back against the grill of the 2011 Jeep Cherokee Dell inherited from his uncle that passed away a few years back. "I was starting to think Scorpio decided to blow us off." Dell comments sarcastically.

I glare at him, he was usually the reason I flashed back to _that_ night and he knew that.

Terry knew too so she scowls and punches Dell in the arm for the trouble he gives me, "Shut it Dell! You know what that does to him! We agreed to stop calling him that!"

Dell pouts as he rubs his arm, "Ow! Touchy! It was just a joke!"

Terry looks like she was going to slap Dell, but instead points a finger in his face, "It wasn't funny so apologize!"

In all honesty the name barely even triggered the memory anymore, not since I connected it to the trial and not the night I earned that nickname.

Dell sighs and looks at me apologetically, "I'm sorry man, just trying to make up for all the crap you guys give me for my own name. Anyways, I didn't expect you to actually come after the _South Dakota Detour_."

_He's really going to get it if Mark is-_

"DETOUR?! Is THAT what you call getting us lost on the way to Montana and ending up in _Mexico_?!" Mark's head pops out from behind the SUV to stare at Dell incredulously.

_His light brown hair still looks like Alistair's from Dragon Age I see, just like the day I met him. Huh, he grew out his goatee again. I thought Terry hated it._

I fake a cough to hide my laughter as Dell gawks at Mark and throws his arms up in exasperation, "That was an error in the GPS I told you!"

Mark scoffs and stops what he's doing to walk around to face Dell fully. He bows sagely as he mocks Dell, "Yes oh powerful GPS programmer..."

Dell frowns and points a finger at Mark, "Fuck off man I forgot the map so I did the best that I could!"

I hear Terry scoff and look at her as she folds her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow at the two, "Yes, and the best you could manage was a bunch of side roads and a few '_maybe the freeway was that way_'s and BOOM we spend the next two weeks in fucking Guadalupe!"

I burst out laughing, "HAHAHAHAHA! GOOD, HAHA, GOD, HAHAHA THAT WAS A FUN SPRING BREAK! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I double over and try to contain my laughter as images of those two weeks hit me, Dell swearing colorfully as he sees the Mexican signs pass by, Terry and Mark waking up next to a beach in shock, me getting a nasty sunburn from not wearing enough sunscreen for ONE day in week two. Good times...

Terry scowls at me, "Oh laugh it up Dylan, you were the only one who didn't take Spanish in high-school remember? We had to keep you within ten feet of us the entire damn time to avoid insulting the locals!" Dell raises an eyebrow and nods in agreement as well.

That cuts me out of my laughter. "Hey, I took French! I only knew _Hola_ and _Como Estas? _and I even screwed those up!"

Mark walks around from the back carrying two sleeping bags and smiles, "Yeah, what was that excuse you made when we were signing up for classes? Oh right! _'French is the way to get ALL the ladies'_."

I blush as they all burst out laughing. "Screw you guys..."

Terry wipes tears from her eyes, Mark desperately tries to not drop the sleeping bags as he doubles over, and Dell is rolling around on the driveway.

_They can laugh all they want! Lets see THEM get stranded in a French-speaking African country and see how well they adapt!  
_

I throw my arms up as far as possible without tossing the two cans of lighter fluid, "Whatever! Hey can we get a move on? I want to get there before the lake freezes over."

Dell finishes laughing hysterically and pats me on the back, "Whatever you say man. You got the lighter fluid?" He said. I wave the two cans in his face and he takes them with a half-smirk.

Terry nods to Mark and they all get into Dell's Cherokee with smiles on their faces. Mark behind the wheel, Dell right next to him in the passenger seat, Terry behind Mark like she always is.

_Ok, it's going to be a while until I see my house again. Better get one last look..._

I turn to look at my window for a moment, letting the memories of my childhood wash over me for a while until I hear something, it sounds familiar... and a bit annoying.

_Oh damn it I know what it is. _

I look at the front door and see my mother, in her morning clothes, glaring at me from the doorway. "Dylan!" she yells again.

_I can't even remember how many times I've heard her yell my name across the yard. Oh wait, give me a second... five thousand, seven hundred and eleven._

"DYLAN!"

_Five thousand seven hundred and twelve._

I cringe and focus back on her to apologize and clarify why she was woken up before ten am, "Sorry, I'm going with the guys on a camping trip."

Her eyebrows shoot way up and she looks at me incredulously, "In October?!"

I nod curtly and answer with a short, "Yep."

She shakes her head again and sighs before waving her hand for me to go.

"Thanks!" I call back as I quickly jog to the back passenger side and jump in. I buckle up as Mark looks behind him only to scowl at the huge amount of hunting crap blocking his view of the road. He looks at Terry and she just smiles and shrugs from the back seat of the SUV as it starts blindly backing out of the driveway.

I see her smile even more when the Jeep hops the curb and nearly falls into the ditch. "Son of a bitch!" Mark yells as he puts it into drive and tries it again, this time with the driver-side door open so he could see where he was going. The Jeep finally starts on the main road and I sit back to just listen to the senseless banter as we started the two day trip up to lake Superior.

* * *

(Two days later)

I yawn as my eyes open to be assaulted by sunlight.

_I slipped into a restless sleep during the last day up here, it seemed like a good idea since dell was getting rowdy and Mark was starting to slack off on the driving again. Seriously if he asks me to do it, I'd do it, but Dell doesn't like the idea of a psychopath driving his baby._

"Dylan, wake up! We're here." I rub my drowsy eyes and look to my left to see Terry smiling at my dazed appearance.

"Yeah, rise and shine sleeping beauty!" Dell pounds on my car-door, waking me up enough to not get mad at his impromptu criticisms.

I open the door and place a hand over my heart, looking at Dell as if I'm touched by his words, "You think I'm beautiful?" He stops unloading the tent and looks at me as if I was an Elcor asking that question.

...

He blinks for a second, seemingly thinking it over, "Uhh..." He shrugs, "Sure why not?" I can see Terry and Mark just barely containing their laughter out of the corner of my eye.

I pat him on the shoulder with a small smile on my face and say, "Thanks man, I could always count on you to be that one person that brightens up my day." He blinks and stares at me as I start unpacking the rations. I look back and Terry and Mark's eyes are as wide as saucers as well.

_I'm not surprised they're shocked, usually I make a joke or call him a softy, this time I'm actually happy he took the time to consider how I look._

I pause and think about what I just thought.

...

"Ok, I am really getting dehydrated or something, that was the weirdest logic I've used in a LONG time." I mutter under my breath while carrying the cases of prepackaged rations to the campsite.

I set them down on a patch of dry dirt and nearly bump into Mark as he runs over and immediately throws down his lawn chair he forced us to drag out of his aunts house in Minneapolis on the way up. I raise an eyebrow and shake my head as he falls onto it in fake exhaustion.

_I don't have time to deal with his laziness._

Walking back to the Jeep I grab a can of lighter fluid and flint and shove them into Dell's arms as he walks by, "You're going to start the fire." He pouts and opens his mouth to object but a quick glare from me makes him dash over to the fire pit in fear.

"You still got it Dylan, I have no-doubt that if you glared at a terrorist you'd get him to shit himself right before turning himself in." Terry said with absolute astonishment and amusement from behind me.

I shrug off my surprise and smile at her, "Hey, it's my one power I can use at any time so I might as well master it."

Terry smiles and pushes her glasses back up her nose as she grabs the last of the tent supplies and walks off towards the far side of the camp.

I let my mind wander for a moment, remembering all the trouble the ride up here was.

_Two days of sleeping in the Cherokee and in road-side motels, one of which reminded me of a horror story I read once so I obviously opted to sleep in the Jeep. Dell walked in on Mark and Terry, well, fornicating... and then proceeded to puke for half an hour from the shock and pass out from dehydration._

I look over at him as he throws some brush into the fire pit and freaks out that some old ash was thrown in his face before coughing up a storm.

_I'm surprised he's still walking after that. He hadn't even known they were a couple until he walked in on them. The only reason he threw up was because he thought of Terry as a sister since he himself was also an only child and they've been friends since second grade. I can understand that, I felt really overprotective of Sarah when she started dating a few years ago. _

I smile as I remember a fight she and I had over why I was interfering with her love life so much. I told her that I thought of her as my little sister and wanted to protect her like an older sibling would.

_She just smiled and told me nicely that she knew who to call if she had a problem, and if I ever dragged her away from a make-out session ever again she was going to cut my balls off. I laughed and hug her tightly, she really was the cutest thing I ever knew._

I sigh as the lingering happiness of the memory bleeds away and I refocus on my task of finishing unloading the Jeep.

I look over at Mark as he sunbathes and then lock eyes with Dell and nod towards Mark for Dell to deal with it. Dell sighs reluctantly and calls over to Mark, "Hey Mark what are you doing?" I pause in my activity and watch as Mark looks over to Dell, he grins deviously, "Why coordinating building efforts Dell, what does it look like I'm doing?" Dell shakes his head, but I can see he's smiling.

_I smile, now that his laziness has been confirmed out loud it should be only a second or two before Terry calls him on-_

"Mark?"

_Bingo..._

Terry calls form the half-pitched tent a few meters away. Mark pretends to not here her. I smirk.

_Wrong move dude. _

Terry pops her head out from the half-pitched tent to yell, "Mark get off your lazy ass and help me pitch the tent or your sleeping outside!"

"Get off my back Terry it was hard driving us all the way up here!" Mark exclaims as he continues to lay back in his comfortable lawn chair.

Terry glares at him and yells, "Oh you had it SO hard! You set the cruise and pushed the responsibility of steering onto Dell for half the ride while you napped! I'm shocked we didn't crash!"

He looks at me as I unloaded the last of our equipment and stop to catch my breath by sitting on the ground for a moment, "Hey! Why does Scorpio get to rest?!" I glare at him but he can't see it. I shake my head, he wasn't going to drag me into this.

Terry swears as the tent collapses with her inside, "I don't care if he was humping a tree and calling the song birds his parents get the hell over here!" Mark reluctantly sighs and quickly trots over to dive into the mess of a tent Terry had tried, and failed to pitch before his girlfriend killed him with an ice pick.

_Or made me glare at him again, whichever comes first._

I look up at the clear blue sky and decide to meditate to calm myself. Crossing my legs I sit on the ground and sigh as I find my center.

...

Dell stands from his position at the fire pit and walks over as I just start to find my center, "You still need to do that huh?" I look up at him for a moment before closing my eyes and ignoring the world around me for a split second to think. "Hello?"

I crack open one eye to see his face not an inch away.

_JESUS!_

"Please give me some space." I state calmly. He smiles and stands up before shaking his head at me and walking back over to the fire pit while whistling a tune I don't really recognize.

_ I need a moment of peace._

I breathe in the cool October air and let the lingering memories of the long two-day ride slip away. I remember the date and internally shrug.

_Huh, it was my birthday yesterday..._

I never celebrated my birthday with a lot of flare. A new video-game maybe, but no flare. Hell I bought _Mass Effect 2_ the day OF my birthday in 2011 thinking it was this terrible foreign fps that I'd end up selling back a week later. Well, that week passed and I didn't sell it, I kept it. I played through it twenty times before Christmas then bought _Mass Effect 1_ and played that through January. I decided to play through both and did that over and over again until I found out that _Mass Effect 3_ was going to come out that March.

_I still remember how ecstatic I was the day I brought it home and played the Mars mission the first time._

I smile at the fond memories of anger and rage that my good friend Ashley getting injured ignited during the end of it. I remember swearing out loud that the lying sack of shit Illusive Man was going to be horribly murdered before I put down that controller.

_Good thing it was a short week at school, otherwise I would have lost it._

And after five consecutive days of continuous fighting I finished Mass Effect 3 with flying colors...

_Then I started getting really angry at the ending, I think it took me eight hours to finally say _screw it_ and except the ending for what it was, an ending._

I shiver as another cool October breeze rushes over me from the surrounding forest.

_ It was two years yesterday that I was introduced to Mass Effect, and now I will forever celebrate that date for what it is, the birth of my modern self._

I open my eyes after a while to see Dell still trying to start the fire and sigh.

_I guess I should go help him out._

"Dell what are you doing?" I stand up and walk over.

He lifts his head and raises and eyebrow up at me, "I WAS trying to start the fire mister 'know it all'."

I cross my arms and ignore his frustration as I assess his situation, "Looks like you aren't having much success." He sighs and nods. We look down at the slightly burnt green twigs he was trying to light and I face-palm. "OK, I'M going to go search for firewood and YOU are going to go get Terry and Mark to put their clothes back on and quit hogging the tent." His eyes widen and he nods after looking at said tent and noticing a lot of rustling and tussling going on.

_What would these people do without me?_

I walk to the edge of camp and check that I have my dagger with me. I cringe as the memories start to wash over me and I'm reminded of THAT night again. I shake my head clear of the dark thoughts and holster the blade before walking into the forest to forge for firewood.

* * *

Half an hour later I've collected a good amount of dry-ish firewood and start making my way back. I knew the way, I had it memorized, so I let my mind wander back to Mass Effect and all it's splendor. For some reason I could only concentrate on the Protheans, their beacons, their technology, the strangely eerie glow they made when activated.

_I absolutely love Protheans, I'm a fanatic for lack of a better word. I even learned a few of their words and written language one afternoon just to occupy myself._

I look up at the sky and notice it was getting surprisingly dark.

_Huh, I guess I was out for longer then I expected?_

I shrug and focus on the meaning of what I saw, "Morit-Kah" I recite in Prothean from memory, it was one of the few words I actually knew, It meant_ Dark-Sky_.

_ Their language rolls off the tongue so beautifully. I wish I knew more though, or at least I wish Bioware had created more of a language so I could learn more._

I look around at all the elder trees and smile as I find myself in a strangely silent part of the forest.

_It just seems so peaceful in the late fall, not really any animals are out anymore, either they move on or hibernate for the harsh winter coming._

I take a deep breath of the cool air and I stop for a moment to just listen to the silence. A twig snaps behind me and before I know it I'm turned around, dagger in my right hand and the firewood at my feet, staring into an encroaching darkness that seemed to just cover everything. I shiver as a sharp, freezing wind cuts across my face, forcing me to wince in slight pain. I open my mouth to ask 'who's there?', but I hear myself say, "Hess Teís?" I slap my hand over my mouth in shock_._

_I just broke the fourth barrier between Prothean and English without even thinking about it. I don't even KNOW those words!_

A strange feeling washes over me as another freezing breeze stings my cheek. I close my eyes and hiss at the sharp contact.

_Why is it so cold? It's not supposed to get this cold!_

I feel my feet carry me forwards and I open my eyes as the breeze subsides to find myself standing at the edge of a clearing. It's completely silent around me, and nearly pitch-black. I look around with my peripheral vision and I catch the sight of a small stone altar in the center of the small clearing. "What the hell?" I mutter to myself quietly as I approach it cautiously. I darted my eyes around, it felt like something or someone was watching me.

_I don't like this..._

A light catches my eye and I turn quickly to stare at the stone altar in shocked awe. Strange carvings of some familiar language form on it's surface. I walk up to it and feel the first indentation with my fingertips, they were strangely comforting for some reason. I traced the symbol, "Der." I pause and look around for who said it when I realize I'd said it.

_Ok, this is weird._

I traced the symbol again, it's swooping lines creating a tingling in my finger and I stare at it in a strange amount of curiosity and awe. It lights up even brighter as my trace of it ends. "Der." I hear myself say the word again.

_It seems like..._

My mind freezes.

_It's Prothean..._

I swallow nervously and quickly trace the entire five symbol sentence carved into the stone. I knew it was a sentence since there was a curved half moon after the last symbol, a little crescent moon that the Protheans used like a period.

I let myself get caught up in the meanings of the symbols and I hear myself recite them perfectly, "Der Greé Hiss Loirét Réah." After I finish reading it I think about the words, but I can't understand them.

_What do they mean? What does this mean?_

A voice whispers something I can barely hear and I look up quickly to see a hooded figure, cloaked in black, approaching.

_Oh my god..._

The hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I feel the air get really cold all of a sudden.

My attention is brought back to the symbols as they glow even brighter. I feel compelled to run my hands over the indentations again and I feel some force come over me as I FEEL the meaning behind them. I open my mouth and speak, "Death greets who calls the living." As soon as I whisper those words a strong gust of wind pushes against me from behind and I have to brace myself on the altar to avoid falling down. I look up again and freeze in shock to see the cloaked figure was just across from me on the other side of the altar, the person's face hidden behind the thin cloak. "Who are you?" I asked breathlessly in absolute fear.

_Fear, I haven't felt fear in-_

"AHHH!" I yell out in intense pain as something stabs at me from behind, it felt sharp, precise, like a thousand knives cutting into me, the pain forces me to buckle and fall fully onto the altar. I clench my teeth and try desperately to block out the pain as it intensifies to the point that I feel myself passing out. Then all of a sudden it stops and I could breath again. I pant in absolute shock at what I just felt. The unbearable pain was beyond anything I'd ever felt before.

_I felt like I was dying... what the hell is happening?!_

I try to steady myself and gasp with wide eyes as I feel myself being lifted over the altar by an unknown force. I panic and try to grab onto anything around me but I find my body unresponsive.

_I can't... move._

My mind wanders and I remember something about a Prothean device that lifted people off the ground and weakly smile at the memory of _Mass Effect 1_'s opening mission.

_Well this is ironic..._

I internally laugh and ready myself for a massive influx of Prothean data or some warning, but it doesn't come.

_Nothing better to do than laugh at yourself when your at the mercy of some random other-worldly force. Is this what I get? Do I die in a forest over an altar? I'm probably loosing it, no this the part where I find out it's all just an illusion. I'll close my eyes and wake up at home, or back at camp._

I wince and groan in immense pain as the sharp stabbing feeling in my back returns.

_Oh, I'm going to pass out..._

I open my eyes as the sharp pain intensifies again and I scream out in my suffering. I feel a tear fall down my cheek and then I feel a heavy _POP_ in my chest. Everything stops, I can't feel anything at all. I look down on myself and I see my dagger, glowing green with some unknown energy, sticking out of my chest where my heart should be.

_I... what's...?_

My vision blurs and I feel cold, so cold.

_Like being frozen in a glacier. _

I try and focus beyond the glowing hilt of my dagger and see the cloaked figure approach and reach its hand out towards me slowly. "What...?" I gasp in my last effort to make sense of the situation. A bright light flares around me and my mind goes blank. My vision turns to deep black and my last thought was how warm it was, it was nearly scalding, purely tropical.

_It reminds me of Mexico..._


	2. A Fixon Shark

A/N Another Chapter for you all, I hope it sets the right mood for the story.

Anyways, Read, Review, and enjoy!

(Revised as of 11-6-14)

* * *

**An impenetrable emptiness... nothing, absolutely nothing left... then, a voice calls in the darkness, "Help!" It echoes through my mind and I can feel the desperation in it. A life desperate for someone, anyone to help her... her... a woman... that voice... "Dylan!" Her voice becomes distant and I'm running, running to prevent something I know I can't stop... she's gone... and it was my fault...  
**

* * *

My eyes fly open in complete and other-worldly fear from the nightmare as they're bombarded by the harsh light reflecting off of something above me. I shut them tight and wince at the searing pain in my retinas.

_What the hell?_

I groan as the feeling goes back to my limbs.

_What happened last night?_

I raise my left hand to cover my eyes as I peek through my fingers to get a better look at my surroundings. My eyes adjusted to the bright light within a few seconds and I look up in confusion, I'm looking at a ceiling, through a ceiling actually, made up of white architectural struts that allowed light to pass through.

_What?_

I blink in even more confusion as I tried to get my mind to start working again.

_What the hell happened last night?  
_

I close my eyes and rub my head to try and alleviate some of the pain.

_Ok, I was trying to..._

My eyes shoot open and I'm back in the forest, I can see the blood covered altar, the green symbols glowing with unknown power, the cloaked figure pulling it's hand from my floating body... I internally scream as I watch myself fall onto the altar with a loud thump and the cloaked figure turn to disappear into the blackness of night. Before the vision ended I look up to the night sky, and see nothing, not one star, not one cloud, even the moon's gone...

I gasp and pant loudly in shock of the sudden vision and again shield my eyes from the harsh light.

_Oh god, that really happened didn't it? Where were the stars though? _

I just lay there for a moment to calm myself down, I knew what would happen if I didn't repress the memory, I'd begin a loop of the trauma like I did with, well, the night I earned my nickname.

_I can think about that later I need to find out where I am._

I move to stand and-

*ping*

"Ow... fuck!" My forehead hits something definitely metal and I stifle a yelp of pain as I grab my head to try and hold back the daze from the sudden hit.

_What the hell was that?_

I lay there for a bit longer to just wait for my pain to subside.

_Ok, so somehow I hallucinated that I died in a forest? How the hell did that happen? I don't hallucinate!_

I open my eyes and look directly above my head to see a curved metal bar, like an arm-rest. I blink and let my mind process it for a moment before grabbing a hold of it with my right hand and using it as leverage to drag myself into a sitting position. I rub my eyes and shake the last of my post-sleep daze before looking around.

_I see... a lot of marble. A few fountains, well crafted too._

I notice a few people walking around and scan the area for any clue as to what I was in. I look at the benches, the free flowing streams, the trees cleverly planted around the fountains to create an ambient affect and contrast with the harsh sunlight peering through the slits in the curved roof and open balcony on my far right. It all made the illusion of peace and safety almost too much for me to bare. I knew how harsh the world can be and this was a mask for it to hide behind.

_It is quite nice though._

I let a small smile grow across my face as I sit back and watch the water pour out of the statue built into the fountain my bench was facing.

_It looks like a person riding a shark of some kind, but the shark's massive! Almost twenty times the size of the little marble person holding onto the back of the great beast for dear life!_

I cross my legs in front of me and look down when I don't feel dirt beneath my feet.

_More marble, so I'm in a high-class private park or something?_

I let my eyes follow the curving natural pattern that the tiles make and find myself back at the statue atop of the fountain.

_Huh..._

Out of curiosity I watch the statue and try and find the meaning behind it like I do sometimes when I look at art.

_Hmm... it's very unique in it's own way, first of all the shark is disproportionate to the rider and by the look of the person it is female, but the head is curved into a bumpy form I can't recognize. Also the entire thing looks to be carved out of the same piece as the floor. Very intricate, costly, but beautiful in it's own way. _

I always liked unique art, it seemed to be just strange enough for it to matter. I sigh in my moment of contentment. I look around a little more and ignore the people walking by like usual.

_I just don't like people, so I do my best to just blend in._

"What do you think he is?" My ears perk up and I discreetly look to my left to see two women in long elegant dresses talking in hushed tones while trying and failing to subtly look over at me.

"I'm not sure, Definitely not from around here." One of them comment.

"I know! But what could he be?" The other woman asks what I assume to be her friend.

"Shh! I think he's watching us!" the other whispers quietly, I could still hear them though.

_I was just watching out of the corner of my eye and they could notice I was watching? Huh, smart people._

I ignore the rest of the conversation and just lay back to relax for a moment while I figured out where I was.

_Ok, a park, a private park like in a high-class restaurant or hotel. But if I was at a hotel then how did I get here?_

My brow creases in thought as I just try to think about something else that I could use to figure out where I was. Not finding any I decide to walk around for a bit to see if I can find out anything without asking someone. I push off of the bench to stand and immediately cringe and stumble forwards as pain shoots up my left leg. I barely catch myself on the edge of the fountain and breath in and out slowly to calm myself.

_Oh, man did that hurt!_

I clench my teeth and turn around to sit down and carefully lift up my left leg to see my jeans ripped and a bleeding 5 inch cut on my left shin. "Oh, that is not good." I mutter as I inspect the bleeding gash in shock.

_How did I not feel that?!_

My heart picks up and I close my eyes to avoid staring at the wound. I had basic medical training, CPR, how to properly dress this wound or that cut, but I NEVER thought I'd have to administer medical help on myself! I was WAY too careful to get hurt!

_I haven't broken a bone in my body since the day I was born and I'm proud of that!_

I think I sit there for about two minutes staring at my wound in shock as I bleed out before I hear, "Sir, I was going to ask you to- oh Goddess!"

I look up and blink as I see a young woman staring in shock and horror at my leg. Her dress was a bit more elegant than the others around the park for some reason. She rushes around the bench and kneels down to inspect my wound. I stare at her for a second before I register that her skin is blue, not her dress.

_Why is she blue?_

"Help! He's hurt! Stay still." She shouts out before kneeling down to inspect my wound for another moment.

I look at her and frown at the blue skin and weird textured head and skin.

_I feel as if I should know her from somewhere._

I throw my head back and struggle to not scream out in pain as she prods at my wound with her fingers. "Sorry! Sorry!" I hold back my tears and look at her just as she starts tapping something on her wrist. Suddenly an orange glow covers her arm before glass-like panels start to form around her forearm.

"Start up, please start up!" She mutters as the panels start to fizzle out before collapsing. I watch in absolute astonishment and shock at the strange technology she was trying to get to work.

_What is that?_

I think my mind was having a meltdown from all the negative input from my leg because I ignore it and focus on not biting my tongue off from the pain.

_God! how the hell can soldiers stand getting shot if this is how painful it is?!_

I continue to wince and just focus on blocking out the pain for a moment. After that moment passes all the pain just stops and I open my eyes to see the woman just finishing spreading an orange goo onto my wound, a quiet hiss comming from the wound as some sort of antiseptic kicks in. I clench my teeth as it burns. "Sorry! Sorry, the medi-gel is going to sting for a bit." She says apologetically.

I breath in and out slowly and wait until the stinging stops to take a look at the gash and sigh as I see it properly dressed... kind of. I look down at her to thank her for the help but stop when it all starts to click. The architecture, the elegant dresses, the blue skin color, the strange shaped heads, the...

_Wait... medi-gel? A glowing glass-like technology?_

My mind searched for the name.

_Omni-tool!_

My eyes widened. I stare down at the woman in front of me and I could see the distinction, she was an Asari.

_OH MY GOD! OH MY FLIPPIN' GOD!_

I think about it all and I close my eyes in absolute shock and lower my head.

_I'm insane if I think I'm there. I can't be there. No, no I refuse to think I'm there!_

I open my eyes carefully and she's still there. I cringe and shut my eyes.

_No. NO I AM NOT INSANE I AM NOT HERE!_

I take in a shaky breath and open my eyes sadly to look at the Asari in front of me. She was still there. She was obliviously typing something on her... omni-tool...

_Just roll with it Dylan, you can't know if your insane without talking to people._

I open my mouth to ask something, anything, but my mouth dries up and I can't.

_I'm not..._

I feel a tear roll down my cheek and shake my head sadly.

_I'm insane. I'm insane... I have to be. This isn't real, I'll just wake up back in the forest any second, maybe with a bump on my head from when I tripped and knocked myself out. Yeah that makes sense. I'm just dreaming all of this.  
_

I take another shaky breath and wipe away my tears before shaking my head and steeling myself.

_It's better to live in a fantasy than in reali-_

"Oh Goddess!" I look up in shock and watch another Asari rushes through a wall that turns out to be a futuristic door.

_I'm insane..._

She approaches us quickly and the Asari that's helping me stands to look at the one approaching. The new Asari looks between us with, um, curiosity... I think. "Liara, what has happened?"

...

...

_What?!_

I gawk at the Asari in even more shock.

_I... I'm insane. I need a lot of help. I need to be in a psychiatric ward..._

I cautiously look over the first Asari and swallow as another wave of fear creeps up my spine.

_I'm insane, I've finally cracked... I-_

The new Asari looks to me and asks, "Who is this?" I just sit there, waiting for it all to end.

_It's impossible, if I ignore it maybe it'll all just go away and I'll wake up in the forest just fine and I'll go home and start taking my medicine again._

She stares at me as I take another shaky breath as Liara joins her. I meet eyes with Liara. Her eyes are so pure, so beautiful... they reminded me of-

_NO I AM NOT GOING TO THINK ABOUT THAT! LALALA!  
_

I shake my head and look at the only safe place, the ground... where a small pool of my blood is sitting...

_ I can't believe this... fuck!  
_

I look back up at her and notice something in her eyes, her azure-blue eyes, they seemed so young, so innocent. I sigh and look at the other Asari to.

_if I'm going to get the hell out of all of this I need to know where, or when I am and what I'm doing._

I force my facial features into neutrality and turn towards the older of the two... Asari, "I am sorry to ask, but what year is it?"

She stares at me like I'm pulling her leg so I just search her eyes worriedly to show I'm serious. The older, violet-skinned Asari raises a spotted eyebrow, "It is 2171 child."  
I swallow and shudder at this new piece of information.

_I am definitely going to need a stray jacket and a padded room, but I might as well enjoy my insanity while I'm in it right? Oh god this is really bad.  
_

I search my thoughts and find the one piece of information about 2171, from the Prothean notes on Liara's Shadow Broker terminal in _Mass Effect 3_.

_ She wrote a Paper on the Prothean Extinction during her time at the University of Serrice._

I look up at her and swallow nervously.

_ I really hope she's already wrote that paper, if not then I'm going to have to break a lot of inter-dimensional law to make it right._

I tilt my head at her inquisitively and she stares back in confusion, "You're Liara T'soni correct?" Her eyes widen in shock and she blinks at me for a moment.

_Oh, come on! Say something!_

She looks like she's analyzing the situation, "Yes, why do you ask?"

I smile and fake my enthusiasm by straightening my posture and brushing invisible dust off my pant legs. I carefully stand and holding out my hand, palm-side up in what I think is an Asarian greeting from a story I read back... home.

_I hope this is the correct greeting. I'm kind of throwing all cation to the wind here!  
_

I ignore the stinging feeling in my left leg as I keep myself standing, "I read your paper on the Prothean Extinction and found it quite fascinating." She looks at my hand then back at me in even more shock than before.

_Come on, come on..._

She smiles timidly and places her smaller blue hand on top of my own. I instantly start sweating as I notice the softness of her hands, "Oh, thank you, I am glad you liked it. I am Liara T'soni."

_ Her angelic voice is just as I remembered it! I think I'm going to pass out!  
_

"If I am not required I need to get back to my class, if anything else happens call APC." The older Asari states quickly before just walking off. Leaving me alone. With Liara T'soni. In a now-empty stone park.

_Just kill me now..._

Liara gulps and looks at me bravely, I can tell she's getting uncomfortable so I smile tentatively at her and decide to introduce myself, "I am..." But then I remember the fatal error every other person did when dropping into another universe and hold my tongue.

_I can't use my REAL name! Wait... why does it matter? If this is all just an illusion... no no, best to keep my name a secret. Just in case.  
_

"I'm... my name is Scorpio, nice to make your acquaintance Liara." I resist the urge to scream as the feeling of total hell clashes with fear and anger at myself for saying that one word.

_I never liked my nickname, but it's useful right now. I seriously hope I can just wake up from this soon.  
_

I feel like crying again as I force myself to push the memories of THAT night from my mind and continue to shake her hand. Liara, of course, is completely oblivious to my internal meltdown and smiles tentatively back before pullings her hand away from mine and blushing, "It is nice to meet someone that appreciates my work." She stands rigid and fiddles with her dress while I absorb the conversation for the first time.

...

And end up staring at her with dinner plates for eyes.

_I'm talking to a very realistic hallucination of Liara T'soni... what fresh hell is this? I know she's one of my favorite characters but holy hell!  
_

I blink as I notice a sudden change in the lighting around us and turn to see everything has a golden hue to it. I look towards a type of balcony at the edge of the park and decide to walk over- "Ah!" Only to wince in pain before aiming for the bench as I fall. I'm barely able to control where I land with my bum leg but still manage to drop onto the metal seat as I continue to groan at the pain in my leg.

_Funny, this pain is definitely real, maybe I'm not... No! No that's impossible! This is all a trick to get me to stay trapped! Like when events seem too real and suddenly you're not questioning what's happening any-  
_

I bite my lip to avoid screaming as I accidentally shift my injured leg too far, shooting pain throughout my body.

"Oh, the first dose of medi-gel is wearing off, I'll apply another application." Liara comments calmly while tapping a black band around her wrist again and kneeling down to apply another dose as her... omni-tool flashes into existence.

_Oh god..._

As she does, I get my first sight of an omni-tool without the daze of pure denial clouding my vision. The clear orange glass that floats around her thin arm in the curved network that seems as natural to the situation as the air around us. The small holographic display was turning in a seemingly random pattern around her small blue fingers as the mini-fabricator applied another stream of the crystalline orange goo into my wounded leg. I quietly sigh contently as the pain ebbs away to a cooling sensation.

_Ok, at least I have the option of being in pain in this illusion. Man this is vivid, more vivid than any other I've ever had before. This might even be more specific than my Solipsisms.  
_

I lift up and stare at the perfectly replicated grooves in my left hand before a flash of light catches my eye. I look to the left of me and my jaw locks up. There, sitting right next to me... I find my dagger, still coated with what I assume is my blood by the redish-brown hue.

_Oh god..._

I take a deep breath to keep myself from panicking as I focus on the dagger for a moment. "Huh, so that's where it ended up." I mutter under my breath as calmly as possible to negate any shift in my hallucination. In my curiosity, I carefully picking it up and inspecting it for any alterations. I gasp in shock as it flares a bright ethereal green with a tinge of light blue brimming at its edges at my touch. I watch in amazement as the energy burns away the crusted blood to show the shining titanium surface of the blade.

_ It's never done THAT before! What the hell!  
_

Liara looks up at me and I quickly shut my mouth and fight my blush from being caught inspecting my dagger in public.

_..._

_And I just realized how creepy that sounds..._

_..._

_Yeah I'm just going to ignore that._

I can see Liara nervously sit down beside me out of the corner of my eye. She watches as I stare intensely at the glowing dagger in my hands, trying to figure out it's secrets. "Is that... Prothean?!" She breaths in shock as I unintentionally ignore her to finish my inspection.

_Ok, the notches are there, the blade is still sharp... I'll need to test it's strength but overall it looks exactly the same._

I internally scoff.

_Oh course it is! This just adds to the illusion!_

After a few seconds I notice that the green energy was coming from the symbols I carved into the sides of the blade, the Prothean symbols.

_Huh, I guess that's one thing to remind me of the altar. Everything is in order, every nick, every little reminder of different parts of my past placed into this one dagger._

I carefully let my right hand wrap around the hilt and smile as thousands of little whispers of the past tell me the stories of my life.

_This blade is everything I am._

My mind remembers Liara and I wince as I realize I'm ignoring her, "It's a dagger I built and customized back on... Earth." I cringe at the word.

_If I believe I'm on a different world then I'm allowing this hallucination to take root._

I shake my head clear and sigh before looking to my left and directly into Liara's eyes, they were brimming with curiosity. I quietly smile at that, "Do you want to inspect it Liara?" I flip the dagger around with practiced precision so I was holding it by the tip of the blade and rest the base of the blade on the palm of my left hand.

Her eyes jump to the dagger, then to me and she nods happily before gripping the hilt and waiting for me to let go before looking it over. It stops glowing entirely when my skin breaks contact with it and the look of pure astonishment. I watch her expression as it shifts between curiosity to bewilderment and back to astonishment while she turns the dagger over in her hand. The calculated looks are contemplative and speaks of decades of experience with artifacts.

_She's in her element here._

Her fingertips trace one of the symbols in almost a trace-like state. As her slender blue finger finishes the turning curve at the end the symbol lights up, and so does her eyes. She turns to me with the most interesting look of excitement, "This is amazing! How did you re-create authentic Prothean script?!"

I stare at her for a moment, just trying to remember what I did to carve the symbol into the thin titanium blade without snapping it.

_Um... what- oh! That's right!_

I smile as I remember the day I did it, "I used a converted full-spectrum molecular laser to carve the symbols into the blade without cutting through it's one millimeter thick surface." She frowns in deep thought and starts inspecting the rest of the dagger as I let the memory itself of that day wash over me...

* * *

"Mr. Greenburg?" I ask for the third time and finally he looks up from his terrible romance novel hidden in a Calculus textbook to stare at me in shock.

He quickly shuts the books and says, "Yes Dylan?"

I place my unfinished dagger onto his desk and he stares at it in even more surprise. "We had a deal, I help you, I get full access to your department's molecular laser."

He blinks up at me for a second while fixing his glasses and scratching his bald spot, then he looks around to see if anyone was listening before discreetly handing me his set of keys for the main science lab while nodding to me. I nod back and smirk devilishly while twirling my dagger around my right hand and back into its holster on my left hip.

"A pleasure doing business with you Mr. Greenburg." I turn away and resist the urge to sprint down the halls in elation that my dagger was finally going to be finished.

_After all those years my dagger was finally going to be perfect..._

* * *

I blink as my vision shifts back to normal and refocuses on Liara as she continues inspecting that very same dagger.

_It's been five years, eight months... three days? Yeah three days since I finished that blade and started etching my life into it's edges, literally. Every nick, scratch, and addition was a piece of my life and I love how it balances the good and bad so perfectly. The sharp tip points me to a better future while the base of the hilt, the scorpion, represents my darker side. The side that would kill to save an innocents life, that... had already killed a man to achieve that goal._

I close my eyes and breath in surprisingly fresh air to calm myself.

It's been a long journey so far, and I'm only nineteen! If the rest of my life is even a fraction of what I've already experienced then I am going to need another four daggers.

"You are Human?!" I look at Liara and focus on her shock as she jumps up with my dagger still in her hands. I watch her as she looks between the dagger and me for a moment before asking, "Scorpio?" She looks at the dagger almost reverently as she carefully touches the tip of the curved blade in curiosity. "Hmm- Ah!" She yelps in pain as the tip glows with intense heat that burns her into losing her grip on the dagger.

I watch the dagger as it falls perfectly, cutting a gash down her dress below the waist and impaling with a sharp *clang* into the marble ground as if it was plastic.

Ok, it's never done THAT before either.

My eyes widen as it starts glowing again, this time with a bit of blue blood burning off of the blade like my own crusted blood did before.

That isn't supposed to happen...

"Oh... my mother is going to kill me!" I shake my head and lean out of the bench at the behest of my aching leg to pull the dagger out of the marble without any trouble and sheath it back at my side holster. Looking up I see Liara sitting on the edge of the fountain before me and inspecting her ripped dress in a small panic.

"Nonono! This dress is ruined!" She mutters as she feels the ripped fabric carefully.

I bite out a groan as I stand, putting pressure onto my injured leg, and walk over to take a look at it with her.

"I know a bit or two about sewing so maybe I could help out?" I ask cautiously, still weary about this whole situation. She sighs sadly and lets go of the fabric to let me inspect it myself. I kneel down in front of her, careful not to use my left leg too much, and take the cut fabric in my hands. "Hmm... it seems to be a cross-stitched inter-woven polyester fabric that was fused together with a second and third layer of colored fabrics to create the elegance of the aqua blue and greens that seems to bend with the light. How marvelous..." I look up in embarrassment as I realize I was speaking out-loud. "Uh... sorry about that." She doesn't respond as she fidgets with discomfort. I shake my head as I get to inspecting the tear itself.

_If it's this intricate then its one of a kind type and impossible to repair cheaply, or at all as the case may be.  
_

I look up and see that Liara is watching me with a hopeful yet nervous look in her eyes. "This is ruined as far as my skills go. I'm sorry." I say sadly with sympathy. I carefully shuffle over to sit down next to her, hoping to ease her stressed mind with some personable comfort. I look to her and find her, well, extremely lifelike. Not at all like even Mass Effect 3 portrayed her to be. The light reflecting off her slightly scaly skin dancing an array of purplish blues that seems quite appealing, especially compared to the seemingly natural deep blue tone her lips carry. The stunningly deep blue eyes I came to admire so much in-game are now right in front of me and I don't know whether to screen in elation or slap myself for thinking it might be real. I notice I'm staring and look away, embarrassed that I got lost in those eyes once again.

_I'm not usually like this, but she just has so much depth to her! I can't help but stare._

I feel some pressure cover my right hand and look down in confusion to see Liara had placed her own over mine. I dare to look at her again and see an apology about to leave her lips, "It is not your fault, It was my curiosity that caused the accident."

I smile as I see the beautifully timid Liara I knew from ME1 shining through with all her nervous glory.

I gently pull my hand away, uncomfortable at the strangely comforting contact. "Thanks for the comfort... Liara, I still feel responsible for the damage though. Is there anything I can do?" I ask carefully.

I watch her eyes dart around, looking for ways to understand what was happening right now. She stops searching after a moment and goes to apologize as her nervousness comes out once more, "I-I am sorry if I have offended you. I-I a-am not experienced with your species-" But I raise my right hand to stop her from breaking what little social self-confidence she has in her.

_It seems like she's always concerned about how others see her, it reminds me of myself when I was younger._

I smile at her kindly, "You haven't offended me Liara, I was just saying I would like to help you repair or replace the dress." I place my hands non-threateningly on my thighs and allow a slight slouch to show I'm relaxed.

_I'm talking to a seriously realistic video game character... If I'm not insane then this is really freaking weird._

I shift around and sigh as my head finally stops hurting from hitting that bar earlier.

_Or at the very least completely awesome._

I watch as her eyes fill with relief and her posture becomes less rigid, but not comfortable, just a bit more relaxed. I lightly smile and watch her dart her eyes around again, trying to calculate every outcome of this conversation within the few seconds before either of us speak again, it's so much like how I thought when I was younger that it becomes scary after a few seconds. The strange connection brings me to reminisce on my childhood for a split second. The nervous conversations, the silent contemplations, my inability to speak to anyone without a formal introduction, it was all familiar.

"Oh, ok, might I ask what you were just thinking about?" Liara's voice pulls me from my thoughts and I watch her carefully for anything out of place. Usually if this was a hallucination then something would be out of place, a small twitch of the face, incorrect dilatation of the eyes, etc, etc.

I sigh with what I think is relief but comes out mostly as worry as I see nothing is out of place. I smile and start up a useful conversation to calm our nerves a bit more, "I was actually wondering where I was. I just woke up here and I'm really confused." I easily tell the truth as I look around the emptied park and think about how if I was inside an altered reality then I would probably want to avoid being discovered.

_Oh the contrary I love working from the shadows, waiting for that one moment to strike, this might end up being really fun. If I'm not hallucinating all this and instead I'm dying alone and cold on the forest floor. Either way this is going to me an adventure at the very least.  
_

She tilts her head and watches me like I used to, just trying to make sense of the situation without asking. I think about it for a moment and end up making a weird realization as I continue to scan the surrounding area for any indication of my location.

_ Huh, I guess I **am** like a scorpion in some ways. Like during combat when I cautiously protect myself and only striking when it's a deadly shot. Well, in a video game at least. I have no idea how to protect myself properly. Oh god, what happens if I have to kill someone else? Will I be able to do it? I just panicked last time with the, well, but purposely killing? I'm not sure...  
_

I shake off my worry and look at Liara to see her still lost in thought. I watch her as I think about my story for a moment, what I could use to explain how, or at the very least WHY I, a lone human male, somehow ended up on an alien planet without any prior record even from Earth.

_Maybe I could buy a fake ID or something? Can I even do that on Thessia?_

I blink twice as I find that I've been staring at Liara this entire time and blush while turning away in embarrassment. I look back to see her still staring and frown at her blank stare. "Liara?" She doesn't respond. I wave my hand in front of her face and she blinks.

Her eyes dilate and focus on me as she watches in shock for a second before blushing and looking away almost identically to how I did only a moment earlier. "I am sorry, I was lost in thought, not staring." She looks back at me nervously, "Not that you aren't worthy of being stared at!"

I smile at her and place a hand on her shoulder, she stiffens as she watches me curiously.

_I knew that would get her attention, I hate people touching me without good reason too._

"Liara, you have nothing to be sorry about, I was exactly the same way a few years ago." I say as comforting and neutral as I can.

_Before I committed murder and ruined every life in my family permanently._

Her eyes widen and she seems to relax a bit. I pull my hand away from her shoulder carefully and she smiles at me in a moment of contentment. "You are very kind Scorpio." Something catches her eye and she looks past me and gasps.

I grab my dagger on impulse and whip my head around to freeze as I'm confronted by the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen in my entire life. "My god..." I breath in astonishment.

"Holy Goddess..." I hear Liara breathe as she stands up and walks past me to lean forwards over a balcony at the edge of the park. I stand as well, careful not to reopen my leg wound as I join her.

My palms rest against the metallic guard rail as my eyes take in the bright flowing oranges, reds, and purples that all seemed to melt into the surrounding swooping landscape as if everything mirrored the simple beauty of nature. I smile contently as my eyes watch sparkling lights of thousands of vehicles moving like the life-blood of the city to and fro from their destinations below me. I think for a second and figure I'm about twenty floors above the ground floor. I shiver in a slight bit of fear as I look straight down.

_I hate heights..._

My eyes drift back to the sky and I watch the burning orb as it slowly descended beyond the horizon, the orb was a cooling yellow that dictated that it was the local star in this system, it was of a different hue then the one back home, seemingly closer too.

_Maybe we're close to the equator? Seems logical._

I let my mind wander as I follow the natural flowing rivers and architecture that made the entire landscape look like it was carved by the flowing water that glides though their pointed sky scrapers.

_It all reminds me of something... something terrible that's also beautiful..._

My vision overlaid images of the Reapers into the background, obscuring the bright star, causing everything to glare a burning red...

...

_Oh crap, I'm on Thessia! _

I swallow involuntarily in fear as the sharp blare from a reaper cuts into my mind and forces me to clench my teeth as a shiver runs down my spine.

_ I know it's going to be a while until the reapers actually come, if any of this is even real, but I'm not even a little bit prepared to fight them!_

My eyes widen at the thought of being stranded on the Asari Homeworld during the invasion and I have to shake my head to stop the thought from continuing with the small hallucination plaguing my vision.

"It's so beautiful..." I hear Liara breath out contently, breaking my vision and bringing me back from a possible future. I look to my right and watch the radiant light reflect and highlight Liara's face and brighten the color of her skin as the harsh light tinted her a strangely red magenta.

_She looks so beautiful that she could be mistaken for the Goddess herself at this moment._

I absentmindedly say, "Yeah, absolutely beautiful." As I watch her continue to smile into the sunset.

She looks at me and blushes timidly as she seems to realize I was staring. "Uh, thank you." She says with slight embarrassment. I blink and quickly look back to the horizon to try and hide my blush.

_I really hope I'm not insane, because if this is just some huge illusion and I wake up in the forest in a few days then I am going to be pretty pissed off._

I close my eyes and calm myself with the sounds of engines roaring though the open air and the bustling of the city below me.

_Ok, maybe this isn't an illusion. Maybe I'm actually here._

I think for a moment and check my pockets to find they did indeed still hold my IPhone and wallet.

_Ok, so where have I seen this before?_

I search my thoughts and find a lot of fan-fiction SI's had a similar set up. Nearly all of them never dropped the main character TWELVE YEARS before Eden Prime, but it fit the category. I scratch my head and sigh in exasperation at the thought of being forced into a Self Insert situation.

_Really? I'm really in one of THOSE? Oh great... I'd better dig my own grave right now, because they never work out right. Oh god I'm going to die quickly._

The dropping temperature kicks me out of my morbid thoughts and I refocus on my surroundings to find the sun was completely set and some artificial lights now illuminated the area in a ghostly blue haze. "Well, it has been nice meeting you Scorpio, I hope the rest of your time in Armali fares better."

I turn towards Liara's voice and in a moment of personal panic at being alone in a strange world, I jump towards her and grab her arm. "Wait!" I nearly shout in fear.

She freezes and turns around to look at me in frightened shock.

I shake in a new anxiety-induced panic and let her arm go as I try to find a reason to know her for a bit longer, "I was wondering, um, if you ever wanted to go out for a drink or something?" I stutter out nervously.

_Oh god, why? Why! why would I say that?!_

I cringe at my words and wait for her to reject me. She watches me for a moment, seemingly analyzing the situation like I usually do before agreeing to do, well, anything really.

_This is nerve racking!_

I tap my fingers against my thigh to my internal clock and count the seconds.

_One... two... three... four..._

After I get to about two hundred fifty Liara finally smiles and says, "I would love to Scorpio." She calls up her omni-tool and starts tapping through the menus.

I stare at her with wide eyes in awe that she actually said yes before shaking off my shock to find myself even more shocked at a possibly real life omni-tool floating around her arm. The windows open and close rapidly as she taps and slides through the displays that are written in a language I can't even comprehend.

_It's probably Asarian._

I blink as I realize something important.

_Wait, if it's Asarian and I KNOW I can't understand Asarian, then how can I even know what anyone's saying?_

I remember the translators from a lot of the fan-fiction I've read and touch the interior of my ears discreetly to find a metallic-plastic casing lining the interior.

_Ok, yeah, how the hell did I get translators? Furthermore, how the hell did I even GET here?! I was in a forest! Did I die or something? Was I really thrown into a parallel dimension or something?_

I sigh and close my eyes to count my heart beats while holding my breath, it was a trick I learned to keep myself from freaking out.

"Um, do you have an omni-tool? My scans say there is not one in the vicinity, but it has been wrong before." I quickly open my eyes to see Liara looking at me questioningly with one of her black tattooed eyebrows raised.

On impulse I shake my head while I thought up an excuse, finding none I reach into my pocket and pull out my IPhone and say, "I lost it and have been consequently using my great-grandfather's IPhone instead." I power it on and sigh as I anxiously wait for it to slowly load the lock screen.

"Uhh... ok. This is my number." She holds up her omni-tool and taps something on her display before the screen flips around.

I fumble through the apps and quickly take a picture of her omni-tool's screen. I make sure it saved before clicking my IPhone to standby to conserve power and nod, "I hope I can call you soon. It's been a weird awakening."

She smiles at me timidly and she turns to walk away. I watch her shadowed form disappear through an exiting door-wall thing. Shaking my head I sigh at my situation and turn back to look at the illuminated night skyline.

_God this day has been fucking insane..._

I look down at the picture on my IPhone and notice something in the corner.

_It's Liara's smile, so beautiful, so calm, so innocent. I almost hate that she'll loose that innocence after Shepard recruits her._

...

...

_I really believe I'm here now aren't I? I'm inside the Mass Effect Universe?_

I shake my head in a sort of elated shock before going over my options.

_Ok, I have no-where to sleep, no food, no way to get back of course, no money, a wallet with..._

I open up the tri-fold leather wallet and count what I had.

_Twenty seven dollars and my Gamestop Power-up Pro Rewards card, and my IPhone._

...

_Yeah I'm screwed._

I sigh and think about all the options I COULD take.

_Homeless shelter, park bench, dark alleyway... wow, not many options. That's just perfect._

After careful consideration I decide it might be a good idea to take one from the fan-fiction archives and just sell all my old crap and IPhone for some quick credits until I get a job. I adopt a serious look and search the area for anything I could use to my advantage.

_Ok, so where is rapid transit? Is there even rapid transit on Thessia?_

I look around and after a bit of difficulty I find it next to the balcony, it was just a small podium with a holographic display.

I press a button.

...

...

_Why isn't this working?_

I frown and press it again, nothing happens.

...

Then I remembered why and facepalm at my stupidity.

_Oh great! I need cybernetic implants or a HAPTIC glove to run this! Son of a-_

I run my hand over my face in annoyance and wonder what sleeping on a park bench felt like.

"Are you having trouble sir?"

I jump in surprise and spin around to find an Asari in an orange gown staring at me. I stare back at her for a moment.

_How did she sneak up on me so easily?_

I shake my head at the thought and say, "Uhh, yeah, I forgot that all the displays were holographic and someone stole my omni-tool so..." I rub the back of my neck to indicate I was clueless as to what I could do.

She smiles and deduces, "So you're stranded with no way to control any of the technology around here, I got it honey, step aside." I blink in shock as she brushes me to the side and types up the display on her omni-tool expertly. "Now where did you wish to go?" She asks as the futuristic and familiar skycar floated down out of no-where and landed next to me before opening.

I stare at it for a moment before turning back to her and saying, "The markets, I was going to buy a new omni-tool by pawning off some of the items I have on me." She nods and types some more.

_This is really nice of her to be doing this for a complete stranger._

"There you go, have a wonderful evening." I step into the back seat of the skycar and she nods and waves as it abruptly closes, cutting my thank you off.

_A bit rude, but I thi-_

"OH MY GOD!" I yelp in shock as my fingers dig into my seat in fright. The skycar upon taking off sped up immediately to over a two-hundred meters per second. I shake in fright as my mind tries to process the other buildings and skycars as they fly by as blurs of color and light. "Oh my god I am going to die!" I yell out just before the skycar takes a sharp right to avoid a head-on collision. I feel my adrenaline spiking as I clench the edge of my seat in total and utter fear, then as quickly as it began, it ends. The skycar parks and cracks open with a *DING* and I can faintly recall a female voice saying, "You have arrived, have a nice day!" As I collapse onto all fours on the sidewalk next to the rapid transit podium.

I barely hold my last meal down as I shake from the fear coursing through me.

_Never again..._

I swallow as my adrenaline wears off and hold my breath for a moment to avoid hyperventilating in my shock.

"Whoever designed those things need to be dragged out into the street and shot! How the hell do people deal with that on a daily basis!" I yell without a care as I shakily stand up and use the podium for support.

_I need a break from that, I- I need to rest. _

I take deep breaths and ignore the stares I'm getting from the locals as I try and comprehend what just happened.

_Never again..._

I fall back against the podium and slide down to the ground in exhaustion, just breath deeply and trying to calm down as the aliens around me walk by without so much as a backward glance. I sit there for a minute, just wondering if I could have two heart attacks in one day and live to tell about it.

_Probably._

I close my eyes and just relax for a moment to catch my racing thoughts. "If this is a precursor to what my time here is going to be like I might as well get it over with early and avoid dying in a fiery skycar crash." I mutter while standing slowly. I turn and kick the metal deathtrap twice before stomping down the street, just venting my anger at the irresponsible rapid transit systems quietly as I frighten softhearted street-goers that pass by.


	3. Without Cause

A/N I had some free time so I got to revise another chapter! :)

Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!

* * *

Ok, so apparently I'm not insane and I'm just inside of the Mass Effect Universe! Great! Seriously. Of all the things that could have happened when I went on a camping trip with my four best friends I get killed, maybe, apparently, and thrown into this Reaper infested universe!

Ok, calm down, calm down.

I take a deep breath and look around from my position leaning against the side of a building and notice a lot more diversity between the aliens out here then earlier. Huh, the night shift must have just gotten off of work.

After cooling off from my near-death experience with the ARTS (Armali Rapid Transit System), I ended up getting lost in the crowds and having to resort to asking for directions. I asked an Asari first, she tried to hit on me so I politely shot her down and asked a Salarian. Worst idea I have ever had in a while. I nearly screamed when the thin, big-eyed creature turned to stare at me with those absolutely empty black spheres.

I involuntarily shiver just from remembering how weird they were.

I just turned around after that and asked the first Turian I'd ever met if he had directions to the nearest tech shop.

He screamed that I was a thieving bastard and threatened to, well, my translator couldn't translate the exact words because he was using A LOT of Turian swear words, but it roughly translated to, 'Get out of my claws you bat-worm before I yelp my ceremonial burial dagger into your insect's rectum.'

...

Yeah, I nearly burst out laughing when I heard that! I ran when he started growling and now I'm just hiding out in an alleyway so I can find my bearings.

Well that went well.

I look out into the street again and notice the crowds were starting to thin out.

I'll have to watch myself around Turians. I don't want a thirteen centimeter ceremonial item of their people shoved up my arse for asking where I could find a good tech shop.

I take a deep breath of the damp air and look more closely at the buildings to try and decipher what they meant.

I'm wasting a lot of time.

Not seeing anything familiar I sigh and walk as nonchalantly as I could out of the alley and into the crowd. I was an expert at blending in with a crowd of Humans but with other species it was almost impossible since I couldn't see ANY other Humans around anywhere.

I let my mind pick up on the small differences of the crowd and I catch a Volus talking to a Turian as a Salarian discreetly sat on a nearby bench and hacked into the Turian's accounts. I knew that because his omni-tool lit up for a split second every time the Salarian tapped anything on his omni-tool.

I still got it.

I smile and focus on the footsteps around me, the rough steps of people late for something, the soft patter of other more discreet people with time, the confident steps of the more dangerous, paranoid, or wealthy as they walked clear of the crowds in practiced precaution. I knew how to ID them all, even in different species, and I loved that. This is going to be pretty awesome if I can pull it all off.

I start walking through the crowd, using my mind's eye to check the amount of valuables everyone had on them like a friend from middle-school taught me.

I counted a few tourists with cautious pockets, a few armed patrons, and a lot of credit-filled pockets.

I sigh as I finish my round and sit down on a bench outside some kind of restaurant. I didn't want any of it but I knew how to do it and get away with it. I internally smirk as my mind drifted to the first job I did for Victoria, my school's guild master...

* * *

I look around from my position by the bathroom doors and blink my left eye over to a completely average girl sitting on a bench, seemingly lost in her phone, to show I was ready.

I catch a laser pointer flash as my signal and push off the wall. It had been a rough three weeks of training. Victoria knew I had potential when she noticed how quiet my foot steps were and how easily I fit into a crowd. She was a great teacher, a bit strict, but on the streets it was life or death, or at least that was what she told me of the streets. I just wanted a hobby outside of gaming and band.

I walk into the Sears outlet store and smiled at the attendant by the door. It was an elderly man, a little over weight, terrible eyes, hatted his job, and was willing to look the other way for a good Andrew ($20 bill). He winked back to me as I held out my hand and shook his discreetly while giving him his charge.

I walked around the clothing department, looking for what I could before picking up a few shirts and a hooded sweat shirt before walking over to the cashiers. "You find everything alright?" The young, distracted girl asked while deftly typing up the transaction.

I nodded and let my peripheral vision pick up Victoria walking in from the parking lot. "Yeah, I'm going to check out the electronics but I didn't have the funds for a new video camera." I say just loud enough for Victoria to hear from just beyond the woman's clothing. It was our code for 'The guard's cleared.' If I started talking to the cashier the coast was clear.

The girl glared at me and says, "I am not sleeping with you." I hold myself still and focus of keeping myself from stuttering.

I raise an eyebrow in question and say, "I'm fourteen. It's illegal. Plus your too pretty for someone as simple as me to even have a chance." I fake immense sadness and turn to walk away.

I get four steps away before I hear her swear and say, "No wait, I'm sorry. I just broke up with my boyfriend and am a bit angry."

I turn and nod to her compassionately. "That's understandable." I say while walking back up to the counter.

"I mean, am I not hot enough? Was he intimidated by my intelligence?" I listen, it was a good trait to have.

I shake my head, "You're perfect in your own way..." I look at her name-tag. "...Bethany."

She looks at me sadly and smiles for a second. "This is my friend's uniform, I'm not even employed here." I smile in shocked revelation. That sneaky vixen! She's really the master!

Victoria walks up to stand next to me and wraps an arm around my shoulders, "You are going to be a pro in no-time. Alexis, have the _Quota_ brought out back." I look at Alexis and she smirks before hitting the code on the register to close the shop and she takes nine twenties from the register as Victoria and I get to work...

Ten minutes later the guard was knocked out, the camera's wiped, and we were on the way back to our class's field-trip. Victoria looks at me from behind her golden locks and librarian glasses, her eyes were filled with pride, "Looks like the day went according to plan D."

I look up at her and smile from behind my black and gray hooded sweater I _'bought'_, "You are the master V."

We walk along the side of the building, discreetly avoiding the cameras and weave back into the group next to the school buses, trying not to smirk like idiots at our clean getaway. "Ok, everyone onto the bus. It's a long four hour ride back and we're already running late!" The teacher involved with the field-trip, Ms. Hanson, said before practically shoving us onto the bus and flooring it.

I was one of the last onto the bus. I walked to the back and smiled in elation that Victoria saved me a seat. I sat down next to her and noticed she was looking out the widow in mourning. "V what's wrong?" She looks at me. Actually through me.

I sigh and pat my left hand on her shoulder, "It's alright V. A will get it done." She looks into my brown eyes with her own deep green and smiles.

She places a hand on my left shoulder and smiles at me strangely, "I always wondered how you could be so caring and yet so blind. Alexis was the fall girl. She's going to be arrested, but not for long since she only knew it was happening, not who was doing it. She won't talk. She never talks." I nod in unsettling contentment.

Little would I know that she WOULD talk and I'd have to rat out the first true friend I'd ever made to save myself...

* * *

My sight returns to normal. I sigh as the guilt from my decision wrapped around my heart.

I betrayed the only friend i had back then, I betrayed the first friend I EVER had to save myself. Sure I was only fourteen at the time, but that is not an excuse.

I shake my head sadly and push the memory back into the dark corner of my mind it crawled out of.

I was only fourteen, but that is not an excuse! Damn my high moral code and extremely empathetic tendencies!

The school's small twenty person underground thought I was the new guild master and put me in charge. I wasn't ready for the responsibility and soon the entire thing crashed down and two separate groups formed, the jocks who used to run the muscle, and the nerds who worked in the plotting department.

The school was never the same again.

I look over the dwindling crowd and finally spot a directory board across the street. I stand and jog over to run my fingertips over the map to find my location.

You'd think this thing would have a 'You Are Here' star, or dot, but nope nothing.

I find the markets and by comparing the stores around me to the map I found out I was near the edge of the district, near the tech shops.

Huh, if I had kept walking for another ten minutes I'd been right on top of them.

I map out the area mentally and double check my estimation of where the tech shops were before heading down a street who's name I couldn't pronounce even if I tried.

* * *

Ten minutes later I was standing in front of an older shop that looked like it was on the verge of bankruptcy. I walk up to the dark little shop and look up at the neon sign. It read, _'Circuits and More'_ with the _'r'_ on _'More'_ blinking on and off randomly.

Seriously? Electrical problems in the future? This place must be really rundown.

I walk up to the old-fashioned push-door and heard a strangely high-pitched beep as I entered. I look up at a banner that stated that they bought and sold old tech and smile at my luck.

It might be circumstantial but it feels a bit homey in here.

I nod at the banner and decide to browse for a bit before actually talking to someone about my IPhone. I walk down an isle and pick up a disk that reminded me of a stripped down core processor, I look at the tag.

A tech grenade? Sheesh am I out of touch with this stuff.

I put the disk back on the shelf and look around at the rest of the store. The place was actually pretty well stocked. Bins of older models of collectible star-ships were in the back with isles that lead people towards the expensive 5000 credit omni-tools and electrical boards that were apparently on sale. Out of habit I look around for security and surprisingly I see nothing, not one camera, not one sensor.

Huh, I guess there isn't much crime in such a run-down shitty place.

It was a nice shop, if a bit dated, even by my standards. Some strangely enjoyable song was playing from the back rooms and spilling out into the main area. I hum along to the Asarian sounding pop-rock song and looked over the strange alien tech they had in another bin near the checkout.

I have no idea what most of these things are, but they're priced WAY too low to not be defective, even I could see that.

"Hello sir, what might I help you with today?" The perky violet-skinned Asari behind the counter smiles at me and tilts her head to look at the small fan-driver-thing I was taking a closer look at.

I drop the small, well, device back into the bin and walk up to the counter, "I was actually wondering if you bought older tech."

Her smile grew wider and she nods excitedly, "Oh yes! We buy anything and everything, if it's broken we can fix it!" I scoff internally.

I highly doubt that. I don't see the mark of a Quarian's work anywhere. As far as my extremely limited knowledge goes this place sells crap tech for regular price and screws off anyone they can.

I shift my weight onto my right leg to lessen some lingering pain from my injury and pull out my IPhone, "I was going to sell this, it was my great-grandfather's"

I hand it to her and she turns it over in her hands a few times before finding the ON button and hitting it. The screen lit up and so did her eyes, "Sir, this is- this is an amazing find! It's rare to find working human technology from the early twenty-first century. It is a beautiful specimen as well, an IPhone 4S?"

My lips curl into a smirk, "Yep, my great-grandfather left it to me in his will, it was sealed in a vacuum for over a hundred and fifty years to preserve it, I unsealed it before coming to Thessia to find a better market for this type of old tech. You know how it is, everything older than ten years is worthless on Earth. I couldn't find any dealers willing to buy and the Collectors were all off-world."

I'm horrible, I just lied again! I know I have to but it doesn't make me feel any better about it. I need to lie to avoid being called insane and/or killed for being strange and undetectable.

She buys my story and starts to analyzing the phone with her Omni-tool, "This'll take a few minutes to an hour kid, I'll have to authenticate it to, that costs 100 credits but I can already tell this thing is the real-deal to I'll bite the bullet and just deduct it from the sales total."

Ok, I don't speak business, but that sounded at least acceptable.

I nod reluctantly and start wandering around a bit. "Right, flag me down when you finish." I said while walking towards the 5000 credit omni-tools.

I look over the displays and frown when the only thing I could find that I recognized was a beat-up _Savant 1_.

Well, it is 2171 so I'd be surprised if they had more of what I remember from _Mass Effect 1_.

I sigh as I set the scratched omni-tool back onto it's display.

Nothing I know about this stuff is going to help me for over a decade.

My eye catches a metallic bracelet in the 1000 credit bin nearby and pull it out. I brush my fingertips over the shining titanium plates and I find the name engraved on the side.

The _Terra 7_, huh...

I slipped it on my left wrist and tapped the circular base on the band that made it look like a watch. To my surprise a purple panel popped up and had start-up options in all the different languages available. I look at the list and finding English I try to tap it and groan in annoyance at my lack of the glove or implants.

God, this is going to get annoying. Ok, first priority I need to get an omni-tool and a set of HAPTIC gloves.

I look around discreetly and notice the Asari had gone into the back. I smile internally and deactivate the _Terra 7_ and carefully pretend that I put it back into the bin when I actually placed a piece of metal I found while walking here from the director board in its place.

Ok, I have a moral code, but in this case I know this store is ripping people off left and right so it's excusable.

I browse for HAPTIC gloves and push down the slight guilt my theft of the omni-tool had on me.

I need it more then this store does. I know how they work, buy crap tech for a fraction of it's actual cost, fix it up with no cost to the store and sell it for double the original buying price with a _sale_ label slapped on it. It's capitalism at its finest.

I find a bunch of gloves on a rack off to the side and a chart next to it that helpfully told me which were compatible with what type of hardware. I look them over and after some digging I find a pair of universal gloves for 8000 credits.

Holy shit! I am not paying THAT much for gloves!

A high-pitched *DING* sounded and I look up and over to the door while slipping on the gloves and pulling my coat's sleeves over my hands to hide them. I focus on the red-skinned Salarian that just walked in and nod to him as he walks up to the bin of _'500 credits or less'_ next to me.

Don't freak out, don't freak out!

I look out of the corner of my eye at him as he rubs his lower lip in contemplation while looking over a circuit in his left hand.

I am not going to freak out.

I pull back my sleeves enough to work the gloves and omni-tool and activate it. The Terra 7 bleeps quietly as it identifies my gloves and I swipe through the display to quickly find the English option. Tapping it the purple panel forms into a small omni-tool with three separate panels and no circular fabricator around my left hand.

"Odd, old model, crude yet very affective at many different applications." The Salarian said.

I blink and look up from the purple panels to look at the Salarian.

He stares at the omni-tool and nods in what I would assume approval. "Good model for beginners."

I smile shyly and nod before tapping the display and watching as it collapses into a holographic dial thing.

Huh, what's this?

Using the gloves I turn the dial and almost gasp in shock as the panels shifted from a deep purple to a magenta.

Oh this is too cool! I'm going to have a lot of fun with this thing.

* * *

"...that's why the interior of the fuselage combusted into an inferno, burning half of my kin inside as I saved myself by escaping via the last escape pod." I swallow as the Salarian smiles deviously and looks off into space before throwing his arms up in the air and shouting, "BOOM! All the walls shaking, the whispers ended but sure it was ok, I was ok." I watch him in shock as he leans towards me to whisper, "It was the Marker."

My eyes widen and I go to speak but nothing comes out.

He smiles, "You know don't you? It was black, it smelled of rotting death but that was ok. It was ALL ok."

I could feel my spine freeze up in fear. I had been listening to this seemingly normal Salarian for the last hour after he started the conversation over my omni-tool and he was getting even more unstable my the second.

I open my mouth and he covers it with his hand, "SHHHHH! It is a secret! A SECRET!" He whispers insanely. He backs away from me slowly and keeps backing away until he's up against the wall.

I start to panic as he reaches into his pocket with a crazy look on his face.

"THIS!"

He whips a Sharpe Black Marker out of his pocket and quickly pulls the cap off to take a sharp inhale. "Oh yes... oh yes, oh yes, OH YES!" He shivers and I stare at him in confused shock and exasperation as he continues to sniff the arts and crafts marker.

...

...

...

I open my mouth to speak but he jumps up and screams, "THE MARKERS WILL RISE!" Before dashing into the exit door, throwing it open, and running out of the store giggling insanely.

...

...

...

"Ok..." I start to try and make a sentence, but nothing could explain what the HELL just happened.

...

I turn back to the counter and look at the stoic features of the cashier. I open my mouth to ask what the hell just happened, but she holds up her hand to say, "Save it! That maniac comes in here every other month so just save it." I nod and try to forget the crazy crazy encounter I just had.

This is why I hate meeting new people!

"Ok, according to the Apple Authentication Office this phone is worth..." The Asari cashier/store-owner said as she taps a few more buttons on her omni-tool. I waited patiently for an answer.

Anything to distract me from that insane Salarian. I knew that guy had a screw loose!

"And it looks like my omni-tool just died on me, great." I look up to see the Asari take her omni-tool and drop it in the bin next to the checkout.

Oh, well, I guess that's good business practice.

The bin was labeled, _5 credit clearance! _I look around the shop and start thinking about what it reminds me of.

You know, this place does remind me of _BestBuy_ at Spring clearance.

The Asari pulls out another from her pocket and starts it up, she types something on it then links it to the terminal that was off to the side. "Ok, I got my back-up working, Your IPhone is worth 52,000 credits according to the AAO."

*COUGH* *COUGH* "What?!" I shout before staring at her in absolute disbelief.

Holy god!

I lower my head and calculate how much that actually is.

Ok, I can live for about a month in bad conditions, a week in livable conditions, a year in poverty, or a day in luxury. I'll see where I can find a job then decide.

She just nods and rung up the item, "The AAO buys their old technology for a huge price, I'm surprised you weren't given an offer back on Earth."

I just gawk at the 52,000 credits for a moment longer before shaking off my shock and activate my omni-tool.

...

...

I'm waiting you damn machi- The display suddenly flashes up and a bunch of code runs down the screen before it flashes off.

"Damn it!" I shout. I just had this thing working to! Gah!

"Sir? Is your omni-tool not working?" I look up at the Cashier and just catch the end of a smile as she looks at me in fake concern.

I watch her for a moment then saying forcefully, "I want a Savant 1 omni-tool, NEW, not like the rest of this crap!" I glare at her as she smiles and point a finger in her face before saying, "You're already getting a huge kick-back for recovering this IPhone so you get to give me the best, or so help me..." She shrinks back and winces with her eyes shut.

Am I really that good at scaring people into submission?

"Alright! Alright, just don't hurt me!" She squeaked in fear from behind the counter.

I look over it and frown at her as she cowers on the floor. "I don't even have anything I could harm you with, I'm just a bit angry because I've been on-world for less then one day and everything has gone to hell since then."

I walk around the counter and carefully crouch down next to her, "You are a scam artist, I understand that, I on the other hand have seen A LOT of people get hurt during a scam. I won't report you if you help me get what I need." I held out my hand to her as I stand and she stares at it in shock.

I'd expect a lot of muggings to go on in these small stores.

After a moment of staring at my hand she takes it and stands. "I... thank you for not hurting me." She smiles and walks into the back-room.

I watch her with sad eyes before letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding and use the counter as support as I groan in pain. My leg was starting to re-gain feeling and it didn't feel good.

I shake my head and take a deep breath to calm myself, I needed to get through the day.

I decide to keep the _Terra 7_ for later and sigh as I waited for the store-owner to come back.

This is a really insane place to be right now. I mean I'm in the _Mass Effect Universe_!

I smile and just let myself remember all the fun I had playing the series. That Mako sucked though.

"Here you go, a new Savant 1 omni-tool with standard combat programs such as Overload, Incinerate, and Omni-Blade. I'll just deduct the selling price from your total amount of credits and... there." She put the clearly new and unused omni-tool on the counter and I turn to look at the transaction screen.

Wow, ok I did not know that a _Savant 1_ omni-tool sold for 12000 credits. Holy Goddess...

...

Ok, I've got to figure out why I'm adapting so quickly.

I smile at the clerk and slip the pristine omni-tool onto my left wrist and let the band tighten slightly around my wrist before tapping the small hidden bump on the edge of the band. The start-up panel popped up and I selected English. It immediately brought me to the next part of the start-up.

Woah, the Terra 7 barely even compares to this thing! It's so fast!

I tap through the display and smile at the lack of a delay like there was on the other one.

This is going to be awesome.

After I finished going through the start-up menus the clerk helped me set up an Extranet Offline Financial Account, or EOFA. I could have sworn she was speaking a different language when she asked if I had an EOFA. Well, she WAS speaking a different language, but well it confused me so, yeah.

I thank her absentmindedly as I walk through the push door and back out into the street. I look around and decide to tinker with my new _Savant 1 _while walking down the street towards a bench I could vaguely make out through the surprisingly large crowd.

I'm probably annoying everyone around me, walking down the street with my nose in my omni-tool, but it's just too cool! It was like buying a newer, faster computer and playing your favorite game on it without having to install conversion software!

Ok, lets see if I can access some type of map. I tapped a_ LOCATIONS_ tab on the main menu and it brought up an interactive 3D map of my location with a search bar in the corner.

Huh, well that's convenient. Dell and Mark would have loved this.

I stop walking and close my eyes.

Oh man, I'm never going to see them again am I?

I can feel tears come to my eyes as my mind drifts to my parents.

Did they know where I was? Do Terry and the others? Did they find my body in that clearing? Am I really dead and this is some strange afterlife?

I sniffle and open my eyes before wiping my tears away with my sleeve, it wasn't the time to mourn the past yet.

I shake my sadness away and crease my brow in determination.

You have got to focus Scorpio!

I cringe internally at the name.

I'm going to hate being called that, but maybe I can change the Legend and rewrite what people knew Scorpio did, I could make Scorpio mean something! I found the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. I need to help this cycle end.

The last of my brief sadness pushed from my mind I turn my attention back to my omni-tool and look up a few of the businesses I've passed during my walk. I find a weapons and armor shop named _The Chained Krogan_ that was down the block and had good reviews. I pin it on my map as my destination. A small holographic arrow pops up on my omni-tool. I wave it around and it stays pointing towards the shop no-matter where I put it.

Ok, Dell seriously needs to get one of these.

Mexico...

I mean who mistakes a huge metal fence for a rock formation?! Granted he had only slept an hour the night before, but still!

* * *

After a few minutes of terrorizing the populous with my novice omni-tool skills I decide to take a rest and found a bench nearby. I sit down and start looking up the stats for my omni-tool. That's when it crashes after glowing bright blue and displaying a lot of white codes. I lower my head in annoyance and look back up to find it turned itself off.

God! I pay twelve thousand credits for this?!

I glare at the band on my wrist and it miraculously starts back up.

"Welcome to the _Savant 1_ operating system start up!" A synthesized voice spoke from the tool.

I could feel my eye twitch as I filled out the start-up menus, AGAIN. hopefully I'll have enough time to find the specs page.

Opening the correct page I read the stats and gasp in shock.

80 Terabyte capacity! Holy shit! My _OPTIPLEX_ back home could only hold one-two thousandth of that!'

I read down the page and am even more amazed at the running speed of 100GB/sec.

Holy crud! My omni-tool could run the entire Internet and still have space for the entire archive at the Library of Congress! The wonders of modern technology! Or advanced technology. Or inter-dimensional technology...

I shake my head and just smile in a tech induced elation as I looked through the pages and marveled at the things my omni-tool could do.

"Hi, umm... is this seat taken?" I look up from my tool and blink as I see a Quarian woman, cloaked in a deep blue environmental suit, and nervously shifting side to side.

First Quarian I've ever met...

"Not at all, please, sit." I said while smiling at her friendly. She looks at me in surprise and hesitates before sitting. She proceeds to then ignore me and activate her omni-tool. Oh, well I guess that's understandable, a lot if not all Quarian's are quite wary of other people outside of the Flotilla.

I watch her out of the corner of my eye as I lookup what a personal VI like Siri would cost to install.

She was young, maybe a few years older then me by her height and how tattered her suit looks. And by the lack of a personalized hood or decorative veil she's either an exile or on her Pilgrimage. Probably never met a Human before in her life.

I decide to just make my VI a learning process and download a few manuals on their construction off the Extranet that I found.

I love that you can access the Extranet EVERYWHERE. It's so much better then having to pay for it.

I swipe my gloved finger across the holographic window to minimize it and tap the empty pane above my inner forearm to start a new project in a new window. I tap the top of the window three times to name the Project and the VI, LIA, or Logarithmic Interactive Assistant.

This is going good so far.

I shrink the window and open up the Extranet window right next to it and used it to access my downloaded manuals.

Ok, the codes seem simple enough, just need to be careful of the algorithms.

It takes a while to get used to the layout of the coding, but I finally start building my VI.

The Quarian and I sit there in comfortable silence while absorbed in our own little personal tasks for about twelve minutes before she speaks up in a weak voice, "I've never met a human before... you are human right?"

I look to my left in shock, I had forgotten she was even there.

One for one. I'm getting better at reading people.

I smile at her and say, "Yes, yes I am... and you're on your Pilgrimage?"

She jumps back slightly and tilts her head questionably, "Yes, how did you know that?" Two for two.

I blink and think for a second before saying, "Your young and not on the Flotilla so I assumed." I look into her Blue visor and have to restrain myself back from leaning in closer to better see her face. It is going to be really uncomfortable trying to talk to Tali when I meet her.

I can't even tell if she's smiling or frowning, it's so strange! What if I insult her and I don't know it until she shoves a shotgun in my face?

Her posture becomes aggravated as she nearly yells, "I'm not that young! I'm twenty! Old enough to be on my own!"

Three for three. Huh, I'm actually a bit disappointed, I thought Quarians would be more difficult to read, but their actually a lot easier.

I lower my voice and say apologetically, "Calm yourself, I did not mean to offend." She relaxes slightly and stares at me for a moment.

She shifts uncomfortably and seems to be debating something internally before she says, "It's not that, I'm just nervous is all. Your the first person to actually talk to me in a civilized conversation since I got here."

Sadly I expected that, Quarian's aren't held in high regard anywhere. Maybe I could help with that later...

"Then let me introduce myself, my name is Scorpio." I nod heavily in the only Quarian greeting I thought I remembered from Tali's Trial. "It's a pleasure to meet you miss...?" I smile at her and tilt my head to indicate a question.

Her body language perks up and she says with pride, "Oh, my name is Seila'Wore nar_ Neema_, it's good to meet you as well." She nods her head slightly in acknowledgement and thanks.

The _Neema_...

I look down at my tool and finish another line of code so I could be distracted while I thought.

I have to sensor what I know about people and things, otherwise I'll become a target of information agents from Cerberus or the Shadow Broker. I have to be careful.

"_Neema_... a good ship, has a respectable admiral as captain, Han'Gerral. Very good man, another early starter on his pilgrimage." I hear myself say plainly as if I was describing the weather.

Or maybe my mouth disagrees.

Looking back up at her I could see the shock in her posture, "You know the captain?! How?!" I smile tentatively while finishing the thirtieth line of code and started tapping my foot to keep myself from running away from the conversation.

Oh man I hate being social.

I shift slightly and say, "I don't, I just know his reputation. Drawing off Batarian pirates during a raid to save a freighter is quite the feat, even if he did have help from Rael'Zorah vas_ Aleria_." I turn my head to cringe as I typed up another line of code.

Damn it! What the hell is wrong with me?! Do I want to die in a fiery skycar crash?!

She shook her head in incredulity, "Do you know everyone on the board or something?"

I finish the thirty-first line of code and nervously look her in the eyes through the light-blue tinted mask and say, "Yes, it's easy to find, hard to get right. A lot of people would call your people thieves and scoundrels, I don't."

I shift so I'm facing her fully and steal my resolve before speaking my mind, "I see a race that was abandoned by the Counsel in their hour of need, a race of misunderstood geniuses, tech savants, and good people desperate to keep the Quarian race from perishing. I see one of the last truly brilliant races slowly burning out under the grasp of time, and I see most of all, the most respectable individuals the galaxy has ever seen."

Phew! That's my motivational speech for the month! So glad I took that speech class in college. I don't even know I was that passionate about the Quarians.

Her reaction was a mix between slack-jaw, wide-eye, and breathing heavily in shock. "That... is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me! Or any Quarian! Thank you!" She jumps forward on the bench to wrap her arms around me in a tight hug. I carefully pat her on the back in response.

It shouldn't be, they have it hard enough without all the insults.

She pulls away and I smile at her brightly while saying, "Don't mention it, oh, I meant that sarcastically. It's easy to misunderstand humans, too many sayings and meanings." I swallow nervously.

I am really uncomfortable right now.

She giggles and her posture becomes a lot more relaxed as she says, "I don't know, your cute when your explaining your culture." I blush and look down at my tool to hide my face.

Hmm... I should do something nice for her.

I think for a moment before smiling timidly and turning towards her, "Seila, can you help me with building a personal VI that links through the Extranet to find searches and responds to verbal questioning?" She watches me for a second, thinking it over.

She's not going to do it.

She nods excitedly, "Yes! I'll need access to your tool and a few minutes, but I can do it."

A few minutes! Sheesh I'm under-skilled! It's taken me twelve minutes and I'm only a tenth done!

I close down and save my project and windows before accessing my EOFA account, "Thanks Seila, here." I transfer over 800 credits to her tool. She looks at her omni-tool as it beeps and gasps in shock.

She quickly turns to me fully and says, "Scorpio! I can't accept this!"

She looks like she was going to have a heart attack!

I place a hand on her forearm to calm her, "Consider it payment for the VI, and a little for listening." I smile as she visibly relaxes.

"Ok, let me see what I can do." She states happily as I slip off and hand her my omni-tool. She nods at it and slips it onto her right wrist. Her two fingers fly across her own tool at a speed I could barely keep up with, the windows popping up and closing faster then I thought possible for an organic.

Holy mother of the Goddess! She's just burning through that thing!

I sit back, cross my fingers over my stomach and just wait patiently as I watched an experienced programmer work her magic.

I still need to find a place to stay and it's getting really late. I check the time in the corner of Seila's omni-tool and sigh as I find it in its Kelish numerical equivalent. Ok, I guess I'm going to be waiting a bit longer.

I sit back and let my mind wander what I knew about Thessia.

Ok, it's the Asari Homeworld, the capital is Armali, It's ruled by the Asari Republics that reside on their own little island clusters around the planet, they hold public democratic legislation. Always a plus. Ok, it looks like the only things I know is just about all that anyone knows about Thessia.

I sigh internally and open my eyes to find a few people looking in our direction weirdly. Huh, well if someone does anything to try and hard Seila I'll kill them! I blink in shock for a second.

...

Ok, I have to get a hold of my temper! Damn! It's like I WANT to cause an incident!

"Done!" I jump at Seila's half synthesized voice next to me and look at her in surprise.

She's done already?

She hands me the band and I slip it on and activate it to see how she did. Seila points to my omni-tool and says, "I upgraded your overload program as well, it should jump targets with sixty percent decrease of damage now."

I hug her instantly, "Awesome!" I say loudly into her 'ear' while pulling away from her in a new-found excitement.

She smiles from behind her mask and rubs her arm nervously, "Oh! Umm, thank you." Her glowing eyes reminded me of the moon back home, I always liked the dark.

Shaking myself from my daze I, out of in-borne paranoia, check that everything was still where it was and when I see that it is I send 200 extra credits to her for thanks.

"Here, for the overload." I wave my omni-tool over hers and the transfer occurs with a low _beep_.

This has been a really weird day so far. Hopefully it doesn't get any weirder.

Seila nods in acceptance and says, "No problem, I left my contact information with your VI, call me if you ever need some programming done and I'll see what I can do." I could hear the smile in her voice.

Alright! My first friend/contact!

I smile at her and say, "Good luck on your pilgrimage Seila, I've got some other things to do, see you 'round." I stand and wave at her as I walk down the street.

I should go to that armor shop, what was its name? _The Chained Krogan_? Odd name.

I quickly activate my omni-tool and check the time and see it's 0240 Galactic Standard Time.

Pretty late by my standards. Well, I'll just shop for a little while longer before booking a hotel room or something.

I continue down the street towards the shop and breath in the cool nightly air. It's such a great night for nightly stroll. I look around me at the people passing by and my smile disappears. I quickly move along and try to avoid a few angry Asari and suspicious Salarians keeping to the shadows.

I look up at the neon lights, the barely visible stars in the skyline, the skycars flying by.

All of this is just too much. It's so awesome! The sights, the sounds, the colors, the peo-

I stop as I pass an alley, something didn't feel right. I look down the alleyway and focus my hearing on the small whimpering coming from the darkness in front of me.

What is that?

A muffled scream of a little girl brakes me from my train of thought. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I felt something, something I wished I'd never feel again. Desperation, fear, anger, pain, frustration, desire... My lower lip quivered as my ears caught another whimper. Tears grew in my eyes and I knew exactly what that whimper was from. Flashes of THAT night hit me at full-force... The pain, the blood, the anger...

"No..." I whisper is shock.

I let my mind work and I roll through my omni-tool and I find the Omni-Blade program.

Damn it I need omni-gel for this to work! God! The one thing I forget! How could I forget that?! It's extremely essential!

After a small mental debate I draw my dagger and ignore how it reacts to my touch as I crouch beside a waste disposal bin. A tear falls down my cheek as I wait the 15 seconds for my vision to adjust to the near darkness. I have to stifle a gasp at what I saw. A Turian, large and completely naked holding down a very very young Asari girl, probably 40 or 50 years old.

I'm just guesstimating that number and I know it.

_**Well it's better then thinking she's older!**_

My eyes grows wide as the second voice echoes through my mind. I hadn't heard that voice in eight years, it was my other personality that I had to take medication for a year to get rid of.

Why...

I shake my head.

I am not going insane!

_**Hello? Is anyone in here? **_

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

I shake my head and grip my temples, trying to push the presence from my mind.

_**Just get off your ass and SAVE HER!**_

I was going to continue the debate but the sub-harmonic growls and grunts from the Turian Rapist focuses me as he tries to keep his victim from running. My anger flares as he punches her in the gut to stop her struggling.

I feel myself clench my teeth in fury.

Damn it! Fuck strategy!

I jump up from behind the dumpster and I feel something around me, tingling, something was around me and it felt strange, like a shifting blanket of warm water.

_**Ebb and flow...** _

The voice was soft, strange. My senses heighten and as quickly as I could I sneak up behind the Turian who was just about to rip the girls clothes off and ready my attack...

_**Release your anger.**_

"FUCKING GET OFF HER!" I scream. I don't think straight, my mind was in a haze, I just raise my hand and focus all of my anger on him, the watery feeling follows the path and slams against him in a blast of excessive bluish light that lit up the entire alley.

_**Reach out with your anger.**_

I didn't have time to be surprised, my mind started reacting to it and I holster the dagger before repeating the smashing of energy again and again as the Turian stumbles back and falls over, being pushed farther and farther away from the whimpering girl who was now at my feet.

_**FINISH IT!**_

With both hands I pull as much of the new feeling into my hands that I could and threw all of the blueish energy into him, throwing him into the alley wall with so much force that I could hear every plate and bone in his body crack and break from the impact.

_**This is your true power... ha ha ha HA HA!**_

The voice bled away as the watery feeling sub-sided, I could hear the Turian's screams echo into the street. I start breathing heavily and notice my teeth are clenched tightly from my anger. What the hell did I just do? The Turian's blue blood started to pool and grow to touch my shoes. My mind was frozed at the sight.

I can't...

Falling to my knees I hear people coming and turn my head to see two Asari officers approaching, weapons raised, "Armali Police! Everyone fre-"

They stop when they see the bloody mess that was the naked Turian embedded in the wall who was surprisingly still breathing and the Asari girl trying to help me up and saying thank you over and over through her tears.

What did I do?

My vision starts to blur and I feel like I was inside one of my visions. I blink and watch as two drops of tears slowly fall from my eyes to hit the ground pool of dark blue blood in a rippling effect.

My body feels like it was on fire, especially my spine. I fall fully onto the blood-soaked ground and try to forcibly slow my breathing as I'm rolled onto my back by one of the officers.

I couldn't hear what she was saying, I just lay there as the blood pooled around me, concentrating on breathing. I feel a sharp stinging in my shoulder and then my hearing sharpens and I finally start to panic.

"...hear me? Can you hear me?!" I nod up at the officer and she helps me up to a sitting position. "We need to get some food in you, you just overloaded your biotic amp." I just nod numbly.

My mind sharpens and my eyes widen.

Biotic what?

I clear my extremely dry throat, "I... don't... have... biotics..." Was all I could manage to say with my gravely voice.

Was that what that was? biotics? The warm watery feeling? Wait... how do I have biotics? I'm not a biotic! I don't have an amp! I'm not even from this universe!

I feel my heart-rate double as the Asari officer frowns at me in confusion.

My mind starts drifting in and out of clarity. She turns my head and felt around. What is she doing? I blink and just focus on breathing.

After about half a minute of searching she gasps and turns my head back to its original position, "You just exhausted a massive amount if biotic energy young man, we need to get you to the hospital and have tests run." I nod, barely understanding what was going on.

Does anybody else hear that ringing?

I reach up to my ear and when I pull it back it had a bit of blood on it and I could hear the ocean. I lost feeling in my limbs.

My mind was moving rapidly as she surprisingly picks me up like a young child and walks me and the girl, who hadn't let my side since I collapsed, to an awaiting ambulance.

I can't... god does my head hurt!

I used all my strength to look around and I saw the bloodied and mangled naked Turian Rapist being whisked away in another ambulance and the alley being roped off by 6 other officers and a bunch of civilians gathering around in the late night breeze.

What's happening...?

I felt myself being put on a stretcher and another injection being administered via my left shoulder by an Asari first responder. My mind jumps at the shock and I feel my heart jump as the liquid flew through my blood stream. I feel something crack and my eyes dilate, shifting everything I see to look curved and blurry.

Suddenly my mind sharpens as a concept runs across my thoughts.

The interior centrifuge of the altering belting system of the shock-drive needs more work before it can begin to alter- to alter...

My vision began to blur again and I used the rest of my strength to try and comfort the crying little girl watching the paramedics scan me.

She needs to be... protected... safe...

My eyelids droop and I start to fall into unconsciousness.

A welcome change to my searin-

Something beeps and my head falls back onto the stretcher as everything goes black.

* * *

A/N The flash-back to the field-trip was something I thought about doing at one point, it never happened though. And I did learn a lot of my sneaking techniques from a girl named Victoria that was arrested for theft of a video camera at a local _Sears_ during my eight grade year in middle-school so it's based off of that.

Did you guys/gals get that Dead Space reference with the Salarian? :)

Scorpio is in for something very shocking... ;)


	4. The Burning Skycar

A/N Another chapter for the people! I've got to say its awesome being back! now that school is over maybe I can actually do this! Welcome back to madness! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! ;) I love writing...

* * *

_*cough* *cough* "Oh... my head..." _

_Opening my eyes I look around and notice I was laying on my back inside some sort of hospital, but all the lights were off and all I could hear was a sharp *beep* *beep* *beep* from a heart monitor to my left. I take in a harshly sterile-smelling breath and resist the urge to cough up a storm. God do I hate hospitals. I groggily sit up and try to avoid screaming as my body lights up with searing pain. I hiss in response and shut my eyes tight. What the hell happened?_

_Trying to access my memory I find it, well, garbled. I open my eyes and notice they were adjusted to the near-blackness by now so I made use of the new resource by scanning the room for anything to tell me where I was. Everything was sterile white, the chairs, the floor, the ceiling, even all the walls were white. Wait... where's the door? I look around again and start to panic that I couldn't find the exit before I noticed a green panel on the wall at the foot of my bed. _

_I close my eyes and take another sharp, sterile, breath to calm myself before remembering what universe I was in. This is turning out to be the worst trans-dimensional travel story of all science fiction. I let the breath out and take hold of my new-found alertness. Testing my arms and legs for mobility, I find I can't move them without causing a lot of pain so I try and weigh my options.  
_

_Ok, speed of hobbling, the amount of doors, guards, police officers for attacking a civilian, other unknown factors..._

_..._

_ I figure my chances of escaping at about 9%. Oh I am in deep crap now. _

_I just lay back and decide to wait out my recovery, at least until I get more data._

_*COUGH!* I wince as my chest burns from the sudden convulsion. _

_God damn it! What the hell happen to me for it to hurt that bad?! Closing my eyes I focus my memory on the past again to try and see why I was in a hospital.  
_

_**Your never going to find it.**_

_My body tenses up and I open my eyes in fear at the sudden outburst. 'What the hell was that?' I mentally shout, I'm shocked when I hear it bounce off the walls and back to me.  
_

_..._

_What the hell is going on?_

_**I know what you do not SCORPIO...** I whip my head to the right and come face to face with a figure cloaked in black. _

_My eyes widen in shock. "Who are you?" I ask completely out of impulse while my mind matched the figure to something I'd seen before, something from just before I dropped into this universe. _

_The figure shifted and a black mist covered its body before molding into a man, a middle aged man I couldn't make out his face in the darkness but I didn't have to to know who the bastard was. _

_I move to grab him and my arms catch on the chains that bound them to the now hard metallic table. **Having some trouble are we?** I growled at him in response, he just smiles and tugs on one of my restrains until it digs into my wrist painfully. _

_**HA HA HAHAHAHA!** His maniacal laugh echoes across the stone walls surrounding us. _

_I hold back my primal fury and focus on trying to keep myself from crying. The walls, the table, the restraints, were all well known to me. I knew where I was now. I kept my eyes on him, knowing the drill and what I needed to do to get out. _

_The room shifts and flares to life as I notice I'm back in the hospital, lying immobile on the bed. and on impulse I look around at the nurses, doctors, the people seeming to be studying me, it goes by so fast that the only words I could make out were "Trauma- ... ep the ER! ... ying of ma- ... ot going to make it..." What is all this?! _

_All of a sudden everything freezes and I could see a woman, no an Asari, weeping next to my bed and another, much taller, comforting her. Sadness frozen in time, a picture of what death brings..._

_The cloaked figure appears out of thin air behind the two and places a bony hand upon the older Asari, it burns silently into her shoulder as the figure speaks, **This is what could happen...** My eyes look to the face of the weeping Asari and my mind recognizes her as the girl from... somewhere..._

_ "Why can't I remember?" I whisper unintelligibly. _

_The figure flashes into black mist and reappears right next to my bed. **Because I made it impossible!** The figure shouts, red piercing eyes burning with fury from behind his dark hood. _

_I avert my eyes for fear of being burned alive and notice something hidden inside his cloak. It was silver, small and sharp, it was strangely familiar. I try and think about what it could be and he closes his cloak to hide it as the entire scene flashes back to the dungeon. The dungeon that was my scene of torture for years after I saved Sarah. A prisoner inside my own mind. _

_My restrains disappear with a wave of the figure's hand and the bed disappears as well, dropping me unceremoniously onto the cold, stone floor painfully. _

_**Oh, how I have missed our time spent together Dylan, or should I call you Scorpio, or maybe Betrayer, the Engineer?**_

_ I grit my teeth and shift into a sitting position as he crouches in front of me. _

_**Or are you a survivor...** He bit out the words like they meant my death.  
_

_He watches me expectantly as I just sit there trying to make sense of what just happened. _

_I think over the options and remember what he usually asked me. I look him in his blood-red eyes and try and ignore the pure fear that nearly overwhelms my soul. I take in a smoky and burning breath and say, "I am everything and nothing. Without me there is no end to the war, with me there can be no peace, I am within and without, I am and am not, I am life and death, and you would be wise to remember that..."_

_..._

_..._

_The room is quiet and the torches lighting up the gray stone walls go out as the figure closes his eyes. My vision bleeds away and I feel faint as the dark inky blackness washes over me. _

_**You know me too well, and you have beaten me in another round Scorpio... you have bested me once again.** _

_I smirk in my discontent. That's how these sessions usually worked, we fight, he tortures, if he breaks me I die, if I trick him I wake up with, well, something, usually a prophecy or just a little bit of luck. My friends used to say I was gifted to be so well attuned to the universe. I never told them the cost. _

_I take a deep breath and try and calm myself, I never expected it to happen after how badly I beat him last time. _

_**You're quick-minded Scorpio, but a fool. You have waisted my time for so long, delayed the inevitable for too long.** He paces in front of me angrily. This is unusual to say the least. _

_I focus on him and my eyes widen as I feel what he wanted to do, what rules he wanted to break, what was GOING to happen.  
_

_My adrenaline spikes and I jump up from the floor and punch the side of his head. My hand burns from the contact but I ignore it as he staggers and pulls away before I snatch his cloak and run. _

_**YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME DYLAN!** _

_I don't look back, I needed to get out of here, I needed to survive and waiting for him to kill me wasn't an option. _

_A blinding flash of light flies past me and I start to panic even more. HE'S THROWING FIREBALLS?! WHEN THE HELL DID HE LEARN HOW TO THROW FIREBALLS?! _

_The ball of flame hits the ground in front of me and a wall of fire bursts into existence. I quickly throw the cloak over myself before tumbling through, the hot flames licked at my still exposed arm and I scream in agonizing pain as I feel the flesh melt off in some places. I stagger from my front roll and in a panic I drop the cloak before just running._

_I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!_

_I keep running and don't stop, even as the ground starts to crumble from under my feet and the sharp searing screams of agonizing pain erupted from my throat as the burning liquid that clung to my arm slowly grew further along my body. I could see the exit, a locked wooden door not ten meters away. _

_Almost there..._

_The flames burst into a vibrant blue as I hear the murderous screams from my personal demon, **YOU CANNOT STOP ME! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND CLAIM MY PRIZE!** _

_My body slams into the door and I curl my uninjured hand around the knob and turn it to surprisingly find it unlocked. YES! I'M FREE! I throw the door open and I'm blinded by the immense white light that pours out from the opening. My mind goes blank..._

* * *

"I'm not going anywhere until I know he's going to be alright!" The young Asari girl stated in absolute fury. She needed to make sure her savior was going to survive.

The Asari Officer crossed her arms and shook her head at the girl's stubbornness, "Mila, if you want to give your mother a heart attack be my guest, but the human isn't going to wake up anytime soon and you know it! He took too much brain damage! I'd be surprised if he woke up at all!"

Officer Rila didn't need this, sure she wanted to see the human wake up, but statistically it was extremely unlikely. Not to mention that anyone who expels that much biotic energy without proper training practically commits suicide from all the resulting brain hemorrhages and neurological damage to the brain stem.

Mila shakes her head and looks back to the pale and hairy form sleeping on the hospital bed. "No, I'm going to wait and that's final." Mila hadn't ever seen a human before in her life and she couldn't waste the opportunity. He saved her from the Turian so she owed him a debt of existence. If she left her mother would be furious.

Rila sighs in exasperation and gives up on convincing the stubborn young maiden.

She walks over and sits down in the chair beside the medical equipment and to the left of the Human's bed. She needed a break, hell, this WAS her break.

She looks to the prone human and her focused, sharp purple eyes shifts worriedly between him and the monitors keeping the Human safe. _I should have just left a _Get Well_ holo-card or something. Why do I need to get involved with someone else's recovery?_ Rila asked herself while shifting to get more comfortable in the metal seat.

She knew the answer already, the Human seemed... strange. Rila hadn't known it when she found him in that ally, stained with the blue blood of a Turian General. She had felt so enamored by his very presence that she just could not stay away. "I cannot even speak to him and still, I feel drawn to him for some unknown reason, Goddess knows why. I'm not attracted to him, personally I really hate all the fur Humans have. It just seems too... weird, scratchy." She whispers quietly to herself.

The strange clumps of fur above the Human's eyes shift downwards in what she could assume was a frown, as if he could sense her thoughts.

Rila sighs and pulls her eyes from the Human before looking down at her omni-tool to check the time. Her non-existent eyebrows shoot up in shock, She had been there for over six hours! Her shift ended ten minutes ago!

"Damn it!" She whispered angrily. She had lost a lot of work lately and she was starting to worry for her job's security. Closing down her omni-tool she sighs with her new-found exhaustion and rubs her tired eyes.

_I need to get more sleep... but I need to stay just in case he wakes up... but I really need to eat too... but I NEED to talk to him- Gah! What is wrong with me?!_

She drops her head into her hands and lets a breath out. Every-time she closed her eyes she saw him. Every-time she stopped thinking for even a moment she heard his voice, it was maddening.

"Ohh..." Her ears perk up and her mind freezes as a rough and unused, yet familiar voice, snapped all her thoughts out of her head. Her eyes widen as she searches the room for the sound and then they land on the Human and she gasps in shock as the Human starts to sit up.

"Oh Goddess! Nurse! He's waking up!" Mila shouted out the door in a panic.

Rila's heart started racing, her hands were clammy, her mind blank. She was actually going to meet him, the strangely curious Human she saved, and for some obscure reason she felt absolutely elated.

* * *

_My head feels like it's on fire, my neck burns, and my body aches. Where am I? What happened?_

"Oh Goddess! Nurse! He's awake!" A woman shouts as I try and fail to sit up.

I try to open my eyes and hiss at the bright light before shutting them tightly and wincing at my aching muscles.

"NURSE!" My mind strains to keep itself running as I finally get myself into a sitting position.

Testing my limbs I raise the arm that was seared from the wall of fire into my limited vision. I sigh in relief that it wasn't immobile.

_Now I know I'm going to be alright._

A strong hand slams against my chest, forcing me back onto my back and my eyes shoot open as my adrenaline spikes in fear. "Stay calm!" I ignore the voice and grip onto something soft and throw in a panic. A sharp yelp hits my ears and the pressure is gone.

_What?_

"GODDESS! NURSE! FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODDESS PAGE THE (enraged Asarian comment) DOCTOR!"

My adrenaline blocks out the pain and I jump out of bed in a panic. I look to my right and in a split second I'm holding a syringe from being jammed into my throat with one hand and fighting off the other arm trying to restrain me.

"No! You will not take me!" I yell defiantly before taking hold of some strange watery feeling and forcing the person off of me and across the room in a flash of blue light.

My vision clears up and focuses onto the ruffled looking Asari nurse laying dazed on the floor in front of me. She stares up at me in total shock, mouth agape, and eyes wide as I stare at her in equal shock and confusion. _What in the hell just happened?_

"Ow..." We both look to my left and find another Asari, this time in some light armor painted with some sort of authority crest. She was laying awkwardly in a metal chair and rubbing her head crests. "Oh I really didn't see that coming." She says in her slight daze before shaking her head clear and standing.

I watch her carefully and stop as I take in her face. Plain for the most part, light violet skin, no visible tattoos, deep violet eyes...

My mind freezes as I recognize her from my psychotic dream. She was the older Asari comforting the...

"Where's the little girl from the alley?" I ask while looking around in a panic.

"H-here, I'm here." I look over to the other side of the bed and find a very young light-blue skinned Asari staring at me in amazement.

My mind instantly recognizes her and as part of my paranoid precaution I look her over quickly to make sure she was alright. Her body language practically screams her insecurity, and her eyes seems to mirror how tired she looks. Her ripped and blood-stained clothes were replaced with some strange hospital scrubs.

"Thank goodness, I thought you had gotten hurt!" I exclaim in absolute relief.

She closes her agape mouth and blinks once before blushing and looking away while stuttering out, "I-I am a-alright. T-thank you for s-saving m-me."

I breathe a sigh of relief that seemed endless, she was safe, It wasn't too late. I smile at her in my sudden elation. She looks up at the same second and looks at me wide-eyed as her hands start to fidget nervously.

Sensing how uncomfortable she was I direct my attention over to the officer Asari I threw into the wall somehow. She's staring at me with the same strangely amazed look.

"What?" I ask on impulse.

She blinks and shakes her shock off as I catch something out of the corner of my eye and throw up something solid to block an attack from the woman from before.

I blink in surprise at the bluish wall that was growing out of my extended hand like an invisible field of energy.

_Ok, this is-_

The field dissipates instantly and I stand there staring at the woman laying flat on her back in front of me, the syringe lying a foot to her right.

I meet her eyes and I see something murderous in them.

_Oh, crap..._

In the split second that she reaches for the syringe and I reach out to grab it from across the room. I'm surprised when I feel it in my grasp when I close my hand and pull it away from the now frustrated woman.

"Stop that!" The angry woman exclaims while diving for the syringe again.

_Oh no you don't!_

I yank my aching arm to the right and bump into the hospital bed. I catch myself on the edge to avoid falling over and watch as the syringe shatters at tremendous speed against the door frame, just missing a very familiar face.

The very elderly-looking Asari wearing a dark purple pair of scrubs flinches away from the shattered glass and looks at me wide-eyed before saying, "Damn it! Meline I told you that he was not ready to wake up yet!" She looks at the angry woman from before and scowls dangerously, her strangely vibrant green eyes shimmering with fury as she clenched her fists.

"I'm sorry Dr. Jeilus but he fought to quickly for me to sedate him!" Meline states in apology.

_Oh, My, GOD! Dr. Jeilus?!_

I stare at her in shock as she shakes her head in annoyance, "I tell you to do one thing, ONE and you even screw that up!" Jeilus puts her hands to her hips and glares at Meline.

Meline cringes and opens her mouth to explain, "But mistress, I-" Jeilus holds up her right hand to stop her.

"I don't want to hear it! go back to the lab and take inventory!" She points out the door behind her and down the hall as a few of the other people stop to see what was going on.

"Ok, sorry, I'll just go..." Meline utters while trying to hide her blush while dashing out the door and down the hall.

Jeilus sighs and yells out the door, "Meline! Wrong way!" And points to the right as Meline runs past the door again, this time going the right way.

I watch the authoritative stance of Dr. Jeilus to find anything to show she wasn't who she was. I couldn't, she was too powerful.

_Ok, so apparently one of the characters I wrote back in my universe actually exists?_

Jeilus sighs as the door shuts with a low hiss and locks into place, "Goddess if she wasn't my niece I'd probably have fired her into the sun by now." She mutters while rolling her shoulders and looking back at me.

_Yeah, she's definitely Jeilus. HAHA!_

"SO..." She starts to talk but takes a second to look around the room and assess what was different, just like I wrote her to be like.

_This is unprecedentedly awesome!_

She watches the little Asari girl wring her hands for a moment before walking forward and grasping them to halt their annoying pattern, just like I wrote her.

"Mila, I called your mother, she'll be arriving shortly." Jeilus says forcefully, but not unkindly to the young Asari.

_Mila, huh, well at least introductions won't matter now._

Mila stomps her foot like the young child she is and states, "No! I do not want to leave! I am happy staying here!"

Jeilus sighs in exasperation and takes Mila by the shoulders while creasing her white-spotted tattooed eyebrows in a dangerous glare, "You can't stay here, you've already been gone for over a week Mila. Your mother was already angry as all hell when I told her you were here!"

Mila flinches slightly, but shakes her head defiantly anyways, "No! I have a debt of existence to repay and I must uphold that debt!" She looks to me while she says this and I stare at her wide-eyed.

_Oh crap, am I going to have someone following me around for all eternity like that EXTREMELY agitating fan from Oblivion? Oh how I wish I could permanently kill that little, mother of a- jack in the back- flying charus bug- fake son of a whore... Seriously! Why couldn't the programmers let you kill the Fan! It's an infringement of our basic gaming rights to deny us the gratification of getting rid of the annoying civilians that follow us into caves filled with vampires only to scare the living hell out of us when we turn around!_

I take a breath and shake my head to calm myself before remembering where I was and looking around at everyone staring at me like I was about to explode.

"What?" I say while shrugging off their attention. Jeilus shakes her head while smiling and quietly chuckling under her breath.

_Oh, you know what I was thinking Jeilus, I gave you that ability, now look around like the goddess was talking to you and all will be alright._

Sadly she doesn't do anything but continue to laugh quietly, but Mila starts to stare at me like I was naked or something. I shift uncomfortably under her gaze.

_Ok, this is getting embarrassing._

"There is a lot to talk about you two, and I have sat here long enough trying to get the courage to speak, so it is my turn." The officer states as I turn around to meet her in the eye.

She looks at me deeply, trying to watch for anything strange.

_I think I'm not going to like this conversation._

"What do you remember from the night in the alley?" The officer asks carefully.

A frown creases my brow as I remember an alley, a forest and some Quarian.

_Hmph, sounds like the beginning of a bad joke._

I focus on the incident more and finally the scene flashes before my eyes, the blood, the screaming, the Turian trying to hold the little Asari girl down to feed his dark compulsions...

I shake away the images and say quietly, "I... remember everything."

She watches me for a moment before I sigh and sit back onto the bed spread to alleviate my aching muscles.

"So, big deal! I'd celebrate." Jeilus exclaims while sitting down next to me on the bed.

I let my head droop as the intense waves of regret hit me like a wall of pain.

"I don't celebrate severely injuring people to the point of near-death." I bite out while trying to rationalize the incident, I couldn't.

"He's dead." The officer stated plainly.

I look up with a confused expression, "What?"

The officer raises a non-existent eyebrow and repeats, "He's dead."

"Who?" I ask, trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"The Turian General you attacked in the alley? He's dead." She states slightly apologetic.

...

I watch her for a second as I take in the information.

"What? He's, Dead? Oh shit... Oh crap! Oh god!" I exclaim, completely panicking.

_I'm going to be assassinated! Of all the people to commit a crime it just HAD to be a high-ranking Turian General! I'm going to die!_

My breathing rate increases with my pounding heart as I search for an exit route.

_I am not dying any time soon!_

Jeilus grabs be by the shoulders and shakes me slightly, "Calm down! Calm down Human!"

I ignore her and continue to let the thoughts of death manifest, the endless quiet, nothing left...

_Maybe I'll get lucky and the Hierarchy will torture me for a few years to pro-long my life. _

*SLAP* "AHHH!" I scream as Jeilus's hand hits my cheek at full force, snapping me out of my initial panic.

_Ow, Ow... that's definitly going to leave a mark! Ah! My head's spinning!_

I try and slow my breathing while rubbing my extremely soar cheek and head, trying to alleviate the headache that erupted from the impact.

"The Turian had it coming! He was going to rape Mila over there," Jeilus points her thumb behind her as I look over to see Mila cowering in the corner, eyes as wide as saucers. "...If you hadn't stepped in, that makes you a hero in my books!" She slaps my shoulder and I wince at the ache in my muscles.

"I'm no hero..." I absentmindedly state as I rub my now sore shoulder.

_No hero kills people on purpose._

Jeilus watches me for a moment before nodding in acceptance and standing up to unlock the door. "I've got some-" She freezes mid-sentence as the door opens to a very regal-looking Asari.

We all stare at the strange addition to the room as Mila tries to look around Jeilus to see who it is.

_Uhh... who's this? I don't remem-_

"MOTHER!" Mila screams out as she dives forward and practically throws Jeilus out of the way to slam into the regal Asari in a huge hug.

Jeilus staggers to the right and crashes into some left-over medical equipment, she lays there, a among boxes and piles of cloth while a slightly ripped bag of red blood dripped slowly onto her painful and dazed face.

"Damn, I guess she really misses her mother." The officer states in astonishment next to me as I carefully stand up.

"Mila! Oh thank the Goddess you are alright!" The Asari wraps her arms tightly around her daughter, embracing in a loving and heart-warming moment of daughter re-uniting with mother.

I smile at the sight, it was refreshing and it allowed me to focus on the present.

_I'm still in the MEU, I'm still broke, I still have..._

I look down and notice for the first time that I was wearing a sterile white night gown and didn't have any of my possessions. I look around for a second in a slight panic before I find my omni-tools and HAPTIC gloves lying on a small counter built into the wall next to my bed.

_Oh, good, phew! I was worried I'd have to start over again._

I quickly stagger across the two steps between me and my tools, holding myself up with my elbow I slip on my gloves and slide on the two omni-tool bands. I activate them and breath a sigh of relief as they activate with ease.

_At least that's out of the way. I'd be SO screwed if I lost these._

"You! I must know who you are so I might reward you for saving my only daughter." I spin around and look at the Regal Asari in shock.

I blink and think about what to say before remembering what my new name was and saying, "My name is Scorpio, and it isn't a rescue if someone died during the attempt."

She wraps an arm around her now clearly short daughter's shoulders and smiles, "Your efforts were not in vain Scorpio, the man who died was a sadist, and I would not have shown him mercy if he would have lived." I match her smile insincerely.

_I still don't feel alright with killing a General._

The officer steps forward from my left, "Neither would I" She extends a hand, palm-side up towards the Regal Asari. The Asari places her free hand palm-side down on-top of the officer's "Officer Rila of the APC, I was the first upon the scene. It is an honor to meet such a high ranking Matriarch."

Rila smiles calmly and the Matriarch returns it, "Hello to you too Detective, it is good to finally meet you as well." She states with a curiosity only a Matriarch could portray.

_What? Matriarch? Oh this is becoming too much..._

I watch as Jeilus stands up off the medical pile and wipes the blood off her face before straightening her scrubs, "Yes well, we are all glad you are here Matriarch, although there is still something we need to discuss about Scorpio."

We all look at her, our attention completely grasped by her admission.

_I have a feeling this isn't going to be good._

"Scorpio attacked a Turian General with BIOTICS." Jeilus states with equal astonishment and seriousness.

I blink and look around at everyone as they stare at me in shock, amazement, and knowing astonishment.

_I don't remember using biotics. I just felt... something. Hmm... What DID I feel? I remember some sort of watery feeling and then I heard that voice and everything just sort-of happened._

"That's not the only thing." Jeilus states while walking around the bed and up to me, I take a step back and bump into the counter.

"Hold still." I watch her cautiously as she lifts her activated omni-tool in front of me and takes a medical scan from what I could see. She types something into the display and frowns in concentration before smiling and looking me in the eye, "You're at optimal health, and as soon as those test results come back we'll have you fitted with a bio-amp." My eyes widen in fear.

_Oh hell no!_

"I am not having something implanted into my spinal column!" I yell in absolute shock.

Jeilus jumps back slightly from the outburst and holds her hands up to defend herself, "Calm down calm down! Sheesh its like dealing with a PTSD sufferer!"

My eyes widen even more then before and I swallow as memories of how I earned my name flowed past my vision. I shake my head to clear it and find everyone looking at me with concern. "I'm fine, now I am not EVER going to submit to ANYTHING being integrated into my anatomy."

Jeilus shakes her head, "No, not an option, you are a very powerful biotic and without proper training you WILL end up killing yourself."

"May I make a suggestion?" We all turn and look at the Matriarch.

She steps forward and raises one hand to address the room while keeping the other within arms reach of Mila. Her features harden and she looks to Officer Rila and nods when she gives the Matriarch a strange look, then she does the same to Jeilus before looking directly at me, "You are to become an acolyte of the Huntress."

I watch her for a moment of silence as Rila and Jeilus watch me with unending stares.

_What am I supposed to do?_

Seemingly noticing my confusion the Matriarch smiles and says, "You are to be enrolled at the Asari Academy of the Huntress to further your understanding and training of Natural Biotics."

...

_Holy frick! I mean holy mother of GOD! This is..._

My mind starts to unravel from how insane the thought was.

_HOW IN ALL OF CREATION IS THIS EVEN REMOTELY POSSIBLE?!_

My adrenaline spikes and I stare at the Matriarch in absolute astonishment.

"What! He cannot train there! He is not a natural biotic!" Rila exclaims angrily.

"Aw but that is where you are incorrect detective. Jeilus would you please." The Matriarch gestures to Jeilus and she in turn sighs in exasperation while turning on her omni-tool.

Jeilus clears her throat and activates a 3D projector to enhance her display. A skeletal system shows up on between the five of us, fractures to certain areas of the structure are apparent, "This is Scorpio's skeletal system, there had been serious fracturing within a few hours of the incident in the alley." Jeilus types something into her omni-tool as I watch the structure overlay with what looks like a nervous system of some sort.

_This is... I don't know what this means._

I look to Jeilus and she seems to ignore me in favor to align the two systems perfectly, "This is Scorpio's nervous system, as you can see there has been serious re-build of it over time. There are twice as many neurons firing then are required in a normal Human according to the neurologists I've called from Earth."

_Oh great, now I'm recognized in their systems._

"We had difficulty finding your biometrics in any system in Counsel or Alliance space." Jeilus looks at me questioningly.

I shift under her gaze for a moment before finding the right lie to tie it all in, "I was born to a small town where medical care only extended to the severe cases such as head injuries, broken bones, etc. I have never in my life broken or injured, well, anything so I was never documented in the local systems." I internally screamed at myself for continuing my trail of lies.

_I'm a terrible person._

Jeilus nods in understanding, "Hmm, well that explains the signs of hair-line fracture remodeling that were never treated properly, as well as dozens of scars that weren't fully healed as well as the absence of any record of your strange nervous system."

"What is so strange about it? It looks like an Asari's from what I remembered from biology back in college." Rila comments while crossing her arms in front of her in impatience.

Jeilus looks back to the display, "It's not normal for any other being outside of Asari to have such an extensive outlay, and we all know it is nearly impossible for sentient life outside of the Asari to use their biotics usefully without an amp."

Rila's non-existent eyebrows shoot up in realization, "He's...?"

Jeilus and the Matriarch nod simultaneously while Mila looks at me and smiles.

_Ok, this is getting confusing._

I clear my throat to get their attention, "And what does all this mean exactly?" I ask with uncertainty.

Four pairs of eyes look directly at me for a moment before Mila states, "Are you really that thick?" I blink in slight shock and look at Jeilus for answers while the Matriarch silently scolded Mila for her outburst.

"You're a Natural Biotic Scorpio, welcome to the club!" She states with excitement.

I take in a deep breath and hold it to avoid screaming out in shock.

_I'm not a biotic! I'm not even from this universe! I'm not going to become some kind of lab rat, I'm not going to be thrown into an academy for people like me, and I definitely don't want something implanted inside of me! I'm new here! I can't have this happen to me so soon!_

I cough out my deep breath and can feel myself start to go into cardiac arrest from all the stress.

_Oh god... _

Someone grabs me by the shoulders and leads me to the bed. I sit down and steady my breathing before looking up to see Rila still holding onto me, "Thanks, this is a lot to take in..."

She nods to me and I catch a hint of a smile pulling at the corner of her slightly darker purple lips. "It is no problem Scorpio, even I am having difficulty understanding a lot of this. I mean, the first sentient being outside of the Asari to become a Natural biotic just happens to be the same one to save a Matriarch's daughter from a rapist Turian General?" She lets out a short laugh, "It sounds like something out of a bad science fiction movie! Haha!"

I smile slightly and try to get myself to laugh a little and fail.

_This is beyond anything I could have expected._

"Jeilus, thank you for the presentation and when those tests are finished forward the entire bill to be covered by my private funds." I look up to find the display shut down and the Matriarch talking with Jeilus in the doorway.

Jeilus bows to her respectfully, "Of course, and I have already forwarded you Scorpio's contact information for further instructions as to where to apply for AAH."

The Matriarch smiles, "That has already been covered." She turns to the rest of us while holding Mila into place with one arm. "May the Goddess shine light onto us all."

Rila stands and bows to her before saying, "May the Goddess favor you Matriarch Lidanya."

_Holy what?!_

I look directly at the Matriarch and I suddenly see it, her facial tattoos should have given her away sooner.

"And lets hope she does, another group of tourists became violent and tried to take control of the Destiny Ascension while I was away." Matriarch Lidanya states with slight annoyance.

"When will they learn." Mila says while shaking her head slightly, "You cannot even hope to match the power of a Matriarch, let alone her ship's trained Commandos."

Lidanya smiles down at her daughter's comment and looks up at me as if she just remembered something, "On behalf of the Asari Republics I Matriarch Lidanya grant you, Scorpio all the benefits and consequences associated with your admission into the ranks of the most highly trained Commandos and Huntresses at the Armali Academy of the Huntress." She ends the powerful speech with a smile and a bow in my direction.

I stand at the behest of my injuries and bow in respect towards Lidanya. "Thank you, it is such an honor to be held in the same ranks of the most powerful biotics in Asari space Lidanya."

She shakes her head, "No thank you, without your timely intervention I would have lost my only daughter."

This is becoming one of the best days of my life.

Mila looks between her mother and me and shrugs before saying, "So he's a natural biotic like me?" Lidanya looks down at her daughter and smiles as she nods. "I really don't get how the Goddess had a role in his existence if he's like us then." Mila exclaims.

I spot Rila face-palming to the side and I hear Jeilus mutter, "Something borne of youth I guess."

I sit back down onto the bed and watch them for a moment, but something starts to bug me so I ask, "Uhh... I have to ask, how old is Mila?"

Mila smiles widely and states proudly, "I'm 25, 26 next month!" Her voice cracks when she says 'month', prompting the entire room to burst out laughing.

_HAHAHA! Oh my goodness that is so cute!_

Mila frowns intensely while looking around at everyone, "What? What's so funny?" She asks

Lidanya stops laughing instantly and says, "You are young and full of prideful energy Mila, something those of us touched by more years can appreciate."

"Ok, so why is Scorpio laughing then. He's younger then me!" Mila exclaims in exasperation.

I watch as everyone looks at me for the second time today.

_Ok, so why did I think it was funny? Oh! Right!_

"Mila, I'm 19. Which if you convert that amount of time related to that of an average Asari I'd be about 152, give or take a few years. and as such you'd be about 3-4 years old as a Human, this makes me older then you are in that retrospect."

Jeilus nods and looks to Mila as Lidanya and Rila look contemplative. "Well, ok then. I still think I should be treated with more respect!" Mila exclaims.

"Mila!" Lidanya scolds her with a slight nudge. Mila in turn looks away ashamed while muttering an insincere apology I can't even hear.

_Strange child, she reminds me of a spoiled rich kid with eight siblings that squandered the family fortune down to a meager sum for her, of which she gets no respect for._

...

_I have really got to stop analyzing people so often._

"Our shuttle will be leaving shortly. May the Goddess go with you Scorpio." Lidanya says while leading Mila out of the room. I barely have any time to look up before they're gone.

Rila rolls her neck and shakes her head to wake herself up. I watch her body language intently and ask, "Tired?"

She looks over at me, surprised that I took and interest in her. "How did you know?" She asks before yawning.

_Ok, that was a bit interesting, I've never seen an Asari yawn before. It somehow reminds me of the Banshee's from Mass Effect 3, but a lot less disturbing._

I shiver slightly at remembering how they always managed to corner me in battle. "I noticed it in you body language, a lot of the basics such as attraction, anger, joy, sadness, and desperation are easily seen in their cross-species equivalence."

She stares at me strangely while rubbing the back of her neck.

"I was in school to become a psychologist." I state as a fact.

She nods in understanding. "Oh, ok, seems like both of us aren't doing what we were trained to do." She smiles in her exhaustion.

I watch her carefully, then I see it. She was watching me, how I moved, how I reacted to certain things, what I was saying and how I was saying it.

I smirk at her, "Yeah, it's hard finding meaningful work as a Psychologist."

Her eyes widen, "Uh, how did you-?"

"I saw you watching me." I answer.

She shakes her head before straightening her posture and looking at me directly, "Oh! How rude of me." She extends her right hand out in what I assume was an Asarian greeting like she did with that Matriarch, her hand was out-stretched palm-side up.

I smile and place my own atop of her own like the Matriarch did.

_**There's nothing you can do...**_

* * *

_I blink and look around for a second, trying to hear the voice again. I find the room empty, "Hello Rila. My name is Scorpio, just Scorpio." I spin around in the now dark room and find myself and Rila greeting each-other, but I could see myself. _

_What is this?_

_Rila leans forward and says, "I've felt so alone lately that it's killing me internally. I need you to help me! I need you to save me!" She exclaims in total dismay._

_I focus on her and she turns to look at me, really through me. I turn around and find a Batarian, or what I think is a Batarian, standing there with a gun in his hand. I blink and a gunshot goes off..._

* * *

I open my eyes in a fright and let go of Rila's hand.

_What the hell was that?!_

Rila looks at me in confusion and tilts her head in question. I stare at her fearfully and I could swear I saw what her end was in her eyes.

"Scorpio?" She asks.

I shake my head and block out the strange vision I just had.

_I'm not insane. I wrote a paper on it, I should know what insane is._

"I'm fine Rila." I say distantly.

"How do you know my name?" She asks.

I watch her watch me for any lies before I say truthfully, "You introduced yourself as such to Matriarch Lidanya so I remembered it incase I needed to speak to you." She looks away for a second then back to me as if I was a talking fruit so I clarify, "I have a rare case of PTSD that enhances my selective memory to the point at which it's partially eidetic."

"So I was right! HA! I'm always right." We look to my right and find Jeilus standing there watching the two of us.

Rila backs away from me immediately and I turn fully to Jeilus to finally get some answers, "Yes, and I want to know everything that has happened to me while I was at this... well you can start at that."

Jeilus raises a tattooed eyebrow and says, "You really have no clue what day it is do you?" I frown at her but shake my head. "Then check it on your omni-tools for Goddess' sakes!"

I look down and activate my Savant I before checking the last time I logged in. It was over eight days ago.

"What the hell!" I shout in shock.

"Yeah, you were in a coma for quite the while, we were worried you were brain dead for a while." Jeilus stated nonchalantly.

_Oh if I wasn't the one who wrote you to be so insensitive Jeilus I would strangle you right now!_

I glare at her to show it wasn't funny. Rila steps forward slightly and comments, "Mila and I were really worried you would not wake up at all. It was really a relief that you did. I did not want such a strange and unique Human to die on my watch." She smiles at me, making the situation even more uncomfortable.

I let the idea of being in a coma for eight days fester in my thoughts for a moment before Rila speaks up again, "You know, your going to be the first Alien to enroll at AAH in the history of the school, which by the way, is over 6,000 years old." Rila stated in amazement while completely oblivious to my inner turmoil.

_Well, that was kind of out of the blue._

I blink at her for a second before answering her unspoken question with, "I know, and I'm honored because of it."

_This is becoming quite insane._

She smiles and opens her mouth to speak but a ping on her omni-tool interrupts her. Her eyes widen as she reads the message and she quickly looks up and says, "I've got to go, see you around Scorpio!" Before literally running out the door.

I shout after her, "Ha! I hope not!"

_She is making me so very awkward, awkward indeed captain obvious, why thank you my captain._

...

_I'm going insane._

I look over to Jeilus and she introduces herself, "I am Dr. Jeilus it's a pleasure to have met you Scorpio." She extends her hand in a traditional hand-shake.

I brush off my surprise before shaking her hand and replying warmly, "Like-wise Jeilus, it's been a pleasure for me as well."

_Because I wrote you._

She walks around the bed and grabs a small crate from the floor before placing them onto the bed itself, "These are your personal affects by the way, although when we tried to clean your clothes they combusted for some reason, maybe personal absorption of biotic energy that reacted with the De-sterilization fumes and ignited the organic fabric. Anyways, I took the liberty of shopping for you while you were out. I was wondering how you felt about a full-body suit capable of self-sealing and built in cloak." She smirks at my skeptical expression and pulls out the suit.

I am shocked into silence.

I take the soft yet strangely strong black fabric in my hands and marvel at the complexity of the inter-woven fibers. My mind instantly tried to match it to other suits I've seen.

_It resembles Kasumi's suit mixed with that of a Quarian's, strange yet also quite appealing..._

The main color was black with a deep crimson-red highlight around the rim of the hood and down the crossing belts that intersect over the abdomen. It was a masterpiece of straps, fabric, and metal that took my breath away.

"This is... how did you find this!" I exclaim in absolute shock and gratitude. "Also, why did you go out and buy something for me? We only just met around eight days ago and I wasn't even conscious!"

Jeilus smiles weakly and rubs her arm uncomfortably, "Actually I lied, I don't know who sent it,"

_That's a-little disconcerting, but I'll think about that later._

"But I looked it up and it's worth over 3 million credits!"

My jaw drops, "Holy hell!"

_Not a day in this universe... wait..._

A question nags at my already fraying nerves resurfaces, "How bad were my injuries?"

She blinks at the sudden change in subject, but answers anyways. "Pretty bad neural scaring, if you had used your biotics for just a little bit longer you would have had some nasty burns down your spine, or you might be permanently paralyzed. I'm not good at guessing." I swallow involuntarily.

_Sheesh... anyways, I'm a bit concerned with the suit, and now that I think about it, why was that voice I heard in the alley so familiar?_

...

_I'll think about it later._

I look down at the suit before me and smile. "I'm going to see how this thing fits." Jeilus took that as a notice of privacy and steps out as I start to strip out of the strangely comfortable, and thin, hospital gown.

I try and look around for a place to start and finding none I call up my omni-tools and try and find a manual.

_I've got to learn how to use armor some time. Ok, so first I need to put on the under-suit._

I slip on the extremely thin fabric that apparently breathed, which is always good. I'm surprised that it fits me perfectly until I read that most under suits were one-size-fits-all.

_Better then not having it be tight enough, or being so tight I can't move._

I reach back behind me and using my great dexterity I zipped myself up. Next is the main body of the armor/suit.

_Hmm, it looks like I'll have to undo a few straps and locking clamps to get it on._

I yank at one of the clamps every-which-way possible before I find a thin release on the edge of the thin disk. I nod at the new knowledge and quickly un-clamp the rest of the suit and stagger slightly as I throw it on.

_Oh, a little bit heavy..._

I shift the flexible plates around a bit before I realize I have it on backwards and turn it around.

_There we go, much better. Also, a bit restrictive, but it keeps you alive so I can't complain._

Tightening the straps and locks into place I read that there was usually a CPU in these suits so I scan the suit with my Savant I before happily connecting it to the Soft-Suit computer.

"Welcome to the AX 12 Advanced Infiltration Suit, please identif-" I mute the annoying mono-toned voice and link LIA into the systems.

"LIA, connect any and all data regarding this specific suit including status updates directly to my omni-tools."

...

"Of course user." She, it replies.

"Oh, just call me Scorpio LIA." I say while pulling the leggings and sleeves to my ankles and wrists.

After slipping on the very flexible and supportive calf-high boots and locking them into place, I notice some mechanical slots on the gauntlets when I slip them on.

"LIA, what are the slots on the gauntlets for?"

...

"Advanced HAPTIC Sensory Tools for use in a range of areas such as control panels and hacking modules."

"Thank you LIA."

_Ok, good thing I didn't BUY those HAPTIC gloves then._

The gauntlets seal into place as I slip my omni-tools on. The fingers of the gauntlets were thinner then I thought they would be, but they had these small rubber grips sown into the inside of the palm.

"LIA? What are these grips on the interior of the gloves for?"

...

"Scorpio, they are an enhanced locking system designed to hold the user's weapon steady for enhanced firing assistance." It answers.

_Wow... that is awesome. I am definitely going to like that feature as soon as I find some weapons._

Something grabs my attention from the crate and look inside to find my Dagger, still as perfect as the last time I saw it, laying on top of an OSD.

Grabbing the OSD I let it magnetically click into place on my wrist and a message appears on the screen of the omni-tool.

It read,

_I know who you are, the paths are set, do not try and change them._

_~D_

_Who's this 'D', and what paths are they talking about?_

I ignore the message for later review and happily slip my dagger into a conveniently placed holster on one of the straps intersecting my abdomen.

Finally I look at the hood. the fabric was thicker then I'd expect from a head covering so I look at the instructions.

_An interior cloth/breather mask woven into the suit that also clamps onto the hood. Wait... where are the...? Oh, I see, it filters the air through a tubing system that cycles through a compression of the suit when in low atmosphere. I may have no idea how to build it or how it exactly runs all of these functions, but at least I know how it works to a small degree. That's enough for me._

Clamping the hood in place and adjusting the suit slightly I look at myself in a weirdly placed mirror to the right of the doorway and I gasp in shock.

_I look bad-ass in this suit! I look deadly and powerful! Liara's going to have to watch herself when she gets a load of this!_

I scrolled through the functions of the suit using my omni-tool and frown at the 'Optical Cloak' function.

_How did someone get cloaking technology? Isn't that only during ME2 and ME3? Maybe it's experimental?_

I stop scrolling as I feel something tug at the back of my mind. I turn and see Jeilus smirking and checking me out, "Damn, Scorpio if I wasn't hitting the Matriarch stage in a few years I'd be swooning!" I laugh with a slight blush tinting my cheeks.

_Wow, being checked out by a character I wrote to be open with their sexuality, talk about irony._

I look back to the mirror, "Yeah, this will do nicely." I state happily.

I may be completely lost and alone in this new universe with no employment and barely a future worth fighting for, but... Ok I lost where I was going with that. Hmm... I should do something mysterious, ok cloak is on my quick-link, nice. Got to test it sometime.

I hit a quick-link on the wrist of the suit and cloak spontaneously. Quietly stepping up to the confused Jeilus I kiss her on the nose and say, "See you later Jeilus." In my fake French accent voice. She jumps and looks around in confusion as I slip out of the room undetected.

_So glad I took French in high-school._

I leave the hospital room for the first time since I arrived and start working my way towards the exit.

* * *

It took some time to find my way out of the strangely maze-like hospital layout.

It's like they're trying to keep patients in and everyone else out.

I take in a deep breath of the strangely salty air and finally start to relax, if only for a split second.

I look up and around the entryway of the four-story hospital, opposite it a park sits nearly abandoned except for one or two civilians. The entire area would have been a great scene of peace if it wasn't for the hundreds of skycars flying overhead at near the speed of sound.

I sigh and walk up to a nearby ARTS (Armali Rapid Transit System) podium and call a cab.

_I need to think..._

A rumbling emanated loudly from my gut.

_And a good meal._

I get into the skycar as it arrives and start looking through the surprisingly extensive on-board directory for good hotels/restaurants.

_The Derése, huh, good reviews, oh my goodness! It caters to all species!_

*Click* "Don't move."

I freeze up as the harsh double-toned voiced individual presses what I would assume was a gun up against the back of my hooded head.

_Oh crap._

"Set the destination for The Taseri Hotel, my employer wants to speak to you."

I scroll through the list franticly and click on Taseri before asking, "I'm guessing you were the ones who gave me this suit?"

"We'll discuss this later." I feel him holster his gun as the cab started taking off so I turn to find a Drell of all things!

_Oh, well, ok, they look really weird in person._

The mid-morning sun gleams through the side-view windows in such a way that it made his black inky eyes even more disturbing then his calm nature. He seems to stare at me for a moment before settling into the back seat comfortably. I turn back to face the front and go over my options and find few.

_Damn it! I can't find figure a way out of this! I've never been taken hostage before!_

The cab jerks to one side and lands in front of Taseri. "Get out and follow me."

_Now I'm surprisingly less worried about my chances. He's letting ME follow HIM, I have a choice! Or maybe I'm just curious about who's behind the metaphorical curtain._

I follow him through a plain-looking lobby and into an elevator. I choose the far corner and lean as nonchalantly as I could manage against the back wall while the Drell taps the display for the 14th floor.

_Damn, too high for free-fall. *sigh* What the hell am I doing? I just willingly go with a total stranger?! Granted I was held at gunpoint but still!_

"If you have any weapons remove them. The boss hates unnecessary violence."

I stare at him from behind my mask, "Do biotics count?"

He reals back in surprise, "You're a biotic? B-But I scanned you and didn't find any amp signature!"

_Should I?_

"I'm a natural biotic."

He blinks at me in shock. "Oh Kreck! I think I made a mistake!"

_Wait what?_

*bing* "Welcome to Taseri floor fourteen, relax and enjoy your stay!"

The perky synthesized voice frightened the sulking Drell, causing him to stare at the ceiling for a moment before stating, "Huh, I guess there's no point in-"

An explosion blew around us as the brakes on the elevator failed and it screamed against the metal wall in a fiery screech of metal on metal. The elevator stops abruptly, tossing us about inside the small metal box as the lights flickered.

"Oh..." I held my pounding head.

_Never do that, again._

Blearily I look at the Drell to see he's bleeding from a head wound and seems unconscious.

_God! What the hell happened?!_

A second explosion rocks the building. "Ohh... Wha- where am I?" The Drell asks in his dazed state.

I kneel down next to him and shake my head clear, "Y-your still in the elevator. An explosion-"

"NOOOOOOOOO!" I jump back as he clutches his head and screams in intense pain.

_What's happening?!_

The elevator drops and the extremely uncomfortable feeling of free-falling sets in as the world starts to blur around me. Hundreds of whispers just barely out of ear-shot start to bleed into one extremely loud scream. I clench my teeth and hold my head at the intense pain until...

I jump awake with a start and look around fearfully to find that I was still back in the skycar at the hospital.

_I- what j-just happened?_

_**Hello Scorpio.**_

"Gah!"

**_Do not be alarmed, I am not here to harm you, just guide you._**

_My hands are shaking I'm so frightened._

"Wha- what's happening?!" I ask, desperate to make sense of the situation.

The voice creepily laughs inside my head, forcing me to cringe.

**_You have been given an opportunity._**

"Wha- what opportunity?"

I can FEEL it smile.

**_A second life. You have been chosen for a second life._**

I swallow and take a deep breath before closing my eyes and focusing every thought I had to block out the entity until the strange presence seems to weaken and fizzle away until it was gone.

_Good god... I'm really going insane aren't I?_

I set the course back to the restaurant and grab my seat as the skycar speeds off abruptly.

_God I am not going to like daily transit if it's always like this!_

My gloved fingers dug further into my seat as the skycar whips around another corner at top speed.

_Well, at least I haven't ACTUALLY crashed in one of these yet._

I look up as the skycar dove under another in cross traffic.

*bing* "You have arrived."

I blink and look out, the skyscrapers were flying by a lot more rapidly than usual, even with it's ridiculous speeds. My eyes widen as I see the roof of a Hotel rapidly approaching. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

*CRASH!*

* * *

A/N Sorry for the Cliffhanger.


	5. The Fish is Deadly

A/N This chapter is WEIRD. I'm just going to say that now. I have no idea why but it is. Well, at least to me...

I tried everything I could. I tried cutting it down, ripping pages of text off, deleting the word 'the', but for the life of me I could not shorten this chapter! I guess it's up to everyone reading it to see if it's good or not. I seriously hope it turned out at least 'good enough'. :/

Anyways, Read, Review, and Enjoy! :)

* * *

Atop a the tall and curved structure of a four star hotel a plume of black smoke rises from the recent crash site where even with all the smoke a figure is seen climbing out of the wreckage and stumbling a few feet away before collapsing completely.

_I can't_ *cough* _breath!_ *cough* *cough*

I stay low to the ground, trying to avoid the cloud of smoke enveloping the area while my adrenaline keeps me from passing out in exhaustion.

_What the hell just happened?_

*cough* "Activating interior CO2 scrubbers" I hear LIA state in her calm mono-toned voice as a slight hissing sound comes from my suit and I could finally take in a breath of fresh air.

_Oh, thank whatever gods that had a hand in the creation of this suit._

I roll over from my position on all fours and just lay there breathing in the scrubbed atmosphere in relief that I was alive.

_Holy shit..._

My heart rate slows and my vision starts to clear up again as my mind re-starts.

I sit up and wave my hand in front of my face to realize I was looking through the mask of the suit and a strange blue outline covered my hand as well as nearly everything around me except the burning corpse of the skycar in front of me.

I wait for some feeling to come back to my limbs before walking through the smoke and up to the front of the skycar, which was embedded into the side of a cargo transport which was mostly on fire.

I look back at the skycar in shock at all the damage that was done from one impact.

"LIA, how did I survive that crash?" I ask in astonishment as I try to inspect the mangled heap of metal and plastic that was a skycar.

...

"Scorpio the standard impact-reduction fields used as a replacement to just recently out-dated air-bags slowed your person down to the impact speed of .2 G force two seconds before impact, allowing you to remain unharmed." It states in a strangely comforting voice.

_Huh, ok now I'm a bit embarrassed for screaming like a little girl right before impact. How was I supposed to know that the skycar had anti-gravitational impact fields or whatever?_

I shake my head and promise myself to never to that again if I could avoid it before looking back up at the burning transport and calling up Lia again, "LIA, can you tell me how hot the interior of the transport shuttle is in front of me?" I ask as I realize there were unlabeled crates by the hundreds inside.

...

"Scorpio, I can detect temperatures exceeding 300 degrees Celsius inside the transport shuttle. WARNING! THIS SUIT'S MAXIMUM SAFETY HEAT CAPACITY IS NOT RATED FOR SUCH INTENSE HEAT EXPOSURE!" It shouts in my ear. I cringe at the sudden ringing in my ears and turn down the volume of her voice slightly.

_Ow... god and I though being in a regular car crash was dangerous!_

"Alright... thanks." I comment slightly agitated by the yelling.

I think it over, trying to decide what to do before I noticed a crate that wasn't even near the fire that had flung from the transport on impact. I quickly walk over and tell LIA to open up the cubic half-meter box.

_Ok, so what do we have here..._

The seal breaks and I carefully lift off the lid to find a lot of small-

*POP!* I jump nearly out of my skin and dive to the floor while covering my head at the extremely loud sound. I lift up my head, trying to get my already fraying nerves to calm down as I turn to see the fuel tank on the shuttle had ruptured, engulfing the rest of the transport and two others in the orange and purple flames.

_God... I just nearly died in a skycar crash and then again from an explosion... I am having a seriously shitty day, week, month, whatever!_

"Oh, man..." I let a shaky breath out and shake off another adrenaline rush before picking up the only crate left and stepping back from the flames and still sparking skycar to try and get over my total shock.

Looking at the contents of the crate I pick one of the small devices up and turn it over in my hand, it was completely black and unlabeled. I scan them with my omni-tool, "Lia, what are these?"

I let the VI process my request and three seconds later it responds, "Mk V experimental hammerhead round modifications fabricated by the _Blue Suns Mercenary Group_ for their _Commando_ units." I pick one up and look it over.

_It fascinates me how advanced this little device is compared to the tech I'm used to back in the twenty-first. It's smaller then a standard USB drive back home and it changes how a fraction of a shard of metal barely a millimeter thick is carved out of a block of metal!_

I let my curiosity take over and I look for a label on the crate. It was completely blank except for one barely noticeable label carved into the edge of the lid, a blue-

_Oh mother of god!_

I quickly drop the crate and throw the lid back on as I realize the shuttle I crashed into was delivering Blue-Sun's merchandise. I feel myself go into panic mode as I realize how much property damage I just did to a mercenary group.

_It's easily two, maybe three hundred thousand credits... oh son of the Goddess herself, WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!_

"Hey!" I whip my head up and notice people approaching from an open door not twenty meters away. I quickly scroll through my combat functions and cloak out of panic as I hear their foot-steps pick up. I grab the crate and run in the opposite direction of the engulfed transports as fast as I can. I look over my shoulder and find the men who were running towards the wreckage were in Blue Sun's armor.

_Oh crap!_

I pick up the pace and dive behind a parked skycar just as my cloak dies. My heart is beating out of my chest. It felt so strange being in regular danger. I'd been so used to dealing with unknowns that I almost forgot what it felt like to be threatened by actual living beings.

"HOLY MOTHER OF A COCK SHORE! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED OUT HERE?!" I look around the edge of my cover to find the commander of the Sun's waving his arms around widely while staring at the now seven burning transports in front of him. I hold back a snicker as he turns to the others to yell, "I LEAVE YOU GUYS ALONE FOR HALF AN HOUR AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS?!" The others look around uneasily from behind their helmets and a few back up in fear of what he could do.

The second in command by the stripes on his shoulder steps forward, "Sir! This happened not eight minutes ago! We were too busy trying to get everyone assembled to respond accordingly."

The Commander falls to his knees as another transport explodes, "That was the biggest shipment of mods we had! Those things are worth millions of credits on the Market! Oh god why? Why did this have to happen?!"

I look down at the unsealed crate in my hands and smile before re-sealing it.

_I think I like scavenging, just so long as I stay alive I'm good._

I look around the corner again to check if any of them moved before pulling my hood over my head and re-activating the cloak.

_Thank goodness my suit isn't easy to recognize and that it hides my face too._

The three other Suns look over the wreck then spread out.

_To look for me no doubt._

I look at the cover I was hiding behind and notice that it was a pretty decent skycar. I check if it's locked and curse that it was.

_Ok, so time to do some detective work. Umm... the skycar is unscratched, not damaged, high-end. So only someone who could afford it could use it._

I look out of cover with my cloak still active and notice something gleaming from the commander's belt as her weeps on his knees. I smile as I recognize an Identification key. I hide behind my cover as my cloak wears off and take a deep breath while thinking over what I was about to do. It had to be perfect, no screw-ups, no do-overs, if I fuck up I'm dead.

_This is nerve-wracking!_

I peek out of cover when I hear some foot steps and quickly duck as I notice one of the three troopers walking over.

_Ok, ok don't panic! Just remember a move you learned from Victoria._

I frown in focus and ready myself in a crouched position. The trooper walks around the front of the skycar and turns his back on me to look out at the city.

_Perfect._

I creep up behind him silently and quickly grab him by the jaw and yank his head to the left with both hands, turning him just enough for me to punch him in the head as hard as I can. He surprisingly drops to the ground like a rock, unconscious according to my HUD.

_Ok, that was awesome!_

I carefully drag him into cover and search his armor pockets for anything of use. After taking his cheep-looking rifle, I find a few personal Items I don't take and after a scan of his omni-tool I growl at his habit of locking his tool securely.

"LIA how can I break into this guy's omni-tool?" I ask in a whisper.

...

"Scorpio, your Terra 7 omni-tool has a built in decryption program, would you like to activate it?"

I smile at my luck, "Yes LIA." The purple display grew on my left arm into a screen filled with boxes of text and an image of the needed text sample to the side.

_Ok, well this is familiar._

I hit the start button and the boxes of text start to move up the display. I tap the needed box when I see it and tap the next and the next as they appear in my line of sight. Eight boxes later the screen flashes green and the Blue-Sun's omni-tool flashes into existence, but the display was on my tool. I let a triumphant grin spread across my face as I find 6000 credits stored in three separate accounts in his personal file.

_Oh, well I guess that's lucky, and it took less then half a minute too! I'm going to really enjoy doing this!_

I transfer the credits into my own account and delete both our transaction histories like I learned from stories Victoria used to tell me about electronic theft.

I close down everything after smiling at the large sum of creds in my own account. Refocusing on my task I look around the corner and realize the other two Sun's were starting to notice their buddy wasn't responding to their calls.

I speed up my task and cloak while silently dashing forward out of cover and towards the commander. I slow down and crouch as I stop a meter behind him. I watch him for a bit as he sniffles and cries his eyes out and almost feel a pang of guilt before I remind myself that my life was in danger and swipe the ID card from his belt, along with his strange-looking pistol for good measure.

He doesn't even notice I've been there by the time I'm back at the shuttle and unlocking the systems using his ID card. I throw my goodies in the back and jump into the driver seat. I take the weird flight controls and start it up just as the Suns look my direction at the noise. Looking out the windows I see them raise their rifles.

_Oh crap!_

"LIA get me out of here!" I shout since I have absolutely no idea how to drive/fly a skycar.

"At once." She responds. The controls beep and acknowledge the user swap before the skycar lifts off the ground and speeds off.

"Hey! That's my fucking shuttle! Shoot it down before it gets away!" I hear the commander shout in exasperation.

I hear bullets ping off the armored plating for a second and duck in an attempt to avoid getting hit, they stop after a second and I sigh in absolute relief that I got out of there alive. I lean back in the comfortable leather driver's seat and shiver from how exciting it all was.

_Ok, so I just got in a skycar crash, stole merchandise from the Blue Suns, and somehow lived past the escape attempt! I feel good, great even!_

Remembering the crate of mods I had in the back I redirect the skycar to the markets.

_Maybe I could sell these to those nice Asari that ran _Circuits and More_ or trade them to the people at _The Chained Krogan.

* * *

My stolen skycar sharply dives down and lands at the curb just outside Circuits and More. I step out with my crate of mods and take two steps forward before noticing something covering the front door.

_What the hell?_

I turn around and place the crate back into the skycar before locking it and walking up to the door to look inside. As I open the door I notice the pungent smell of rotting meat and cover my face in an attempt to escape it. The lights were flickering and I can see a figure in the darkness.

_What-?_

I abruptly stop as my eyes catch the sight of three bodies laying on the floor. I recognize all three of them. The two Asari that ran the store were near the counter, gunshots to the head. The last was the crazy Salarian from before, gunshot to the head as well, but it was suicide as his left hand held the still armed pistol.

_Oh my..._

I stand there, frozen in place, trying to rationalize it.

_I know I can't but it still feels better to try._

My mind focuses and something crosses my mind as I stare at the bodies.

_I wonder if they have anything I could take._

Ignoring the gruesome scene I carefully slip the store's account card from the counter and login as the supervisor.

_Ok, now what's here..._

I find the accounts already whipped and decide to look around the back for anything of use.

After a few minutes of looting I find some high-level omni-tools and two similar pistols to the one I grabbed off the Blue-Sun's commander.

_Huh, so he might have bought it from here, interesting. A bit more interesting then the double homicide/suicide out in the main room._

I walk around the pools of purple and green blood, careful to not disturb the crime scene, and walk out into the oblivious and busy streets.

_These people don't know what type of shit just went down in there._

I unlock the skycar, throw the tech into the back and type in The Chained Krogan as my destination while sending an anonymous message to the Armali Police Center detailing the incident.

_Better the officers clean that up before someone disturbs the scene while looting the store. Not that I'm not sorry they died, but it won't do myself or anyone any good if I let some criminals take the good stuff before I have a crack at it._

I sigh and lean back into my seat.

_I'm a terrible person._

The skycar lands just as quickly as before and I look up as I get out to be shocked by how run-down The Chained Krogan was. The sign was hanging side-ways, windows broken, multiple bullet holes in the control panel for the door which was wide open.

_Damn, this place looks like a war zone._

I grab my pile of tech and walk inside cautiously, the interior was shockingly pristine! Not one bullet hole, not one scorch mark, not even one spot on the white surface of the counter.

_Wow... what a difference._

"Welcome to The Chained Krogan! How may I serve you?" A red-skinned Salarian states happily from behind the counter.

I let myself internally scream at how freaky he looks before swallowing and saying, "I was going to sell these items to you today." I wave my hand to the pile of goodies on the counter and the Salarian nods once before grabbing the rifle and inspecting it.

He bounces the rifle in his hands for a moment before setting it on the counter to the of the register, "100 credits." I nod and he passes a chit over to me while putting the rifle under the counter.

"So, you like doing this item by item?" I ask conversationally.

He nods while picking up one of the pistols, "Yes, it allows the customer to realize that each individual item might be worth more or less due to their condition as well as keeps con-artists at bay from the enhanced screening." He cocks the pistol back and blinks at the interior before muttering, "Interesting..." He calls up a green omni-tool display and types something in before smiling and setting it down to the right, "Enhanced modifications, 1500 credits." He looks at the other two pistols and says, "And only 800 for both of the other two."

I nod, "That's reasonable."

He smiles and stores them under the counter like before.

He takes twenty minutes going over the omni-tools before he looks up and says, "15000 credits for all of them." I agree happily and he's finally down to the crate of mods.

He cracks the seal and puts the lid off to the side. "I found this crate outside a transport shuttle and thought they could be worth something." I state as he inspects one of the mods using his omni-tool.

The tool beeps and his eyes widen in shock, "By the old gods! These are top-tier!" He exclaims while carefully setting the mod down on the counter before looking directly at me. "I have a buyer of high-end mods on the Citadel that could find a buyer for these in about a week, but I can forward you all the credits now if you wish." He starts hopping slightly in place with a huge grin on his thin lips.

I shrug and say, "Ok, um sure? I guess that's fine."

He then proceeds to take out and scan all twenty four mods and make sure they weren't fakes, which takes about ten minutes.

I wander around the shop during that short time and notice a lot of high-tech security around the place, sensory devices, cameras, the works.

_The guy's paranoid I'll give him that. Ooooh what's that!_

I marvel at a pristine and sleek Sniper Rifle held in a security case on one of the back walls and look at the specs cautiously. "The Reaper IV, designed by Elkoss Combine, 1.2 shots before overheating, maximum range of 140 meters. Nice." I inspect the deep red and white design and smile at the extreme similarities it held with the ones from ME1.

"I see you have found our top-line model for the year!" I look to my right and nearly scream in shock from how close the Salarian was. He reaches up and opens the case before taking the rifle out and starting it up. It unfolds with a hiss and click dramatically.

"I'll take it!" I state happily without looking at the price tag.

_No reason to question spending habits yet._

"Excellent! It comes with a complimentary Edge III Pistol when purchased using store credit." He states as we walk back to the front and he rings it up.

I notice the mods were gone and so was the crate, "How much were those mods worth?" I ask curiously.

He stops typing and looks directly at me, "They were 6000 credits a piece on market, off market they are worth 5500 credits. Due to security risks with the Blue-Suns I deducted 1500 per unit and 100 for a delayed buy back on my part so I owe you a total of 93600 credits, 102960 credits if you want in-store credit." He smiles and my jaw drops.

...

_Oh god! That was just ONE crate?! I destroyed like twenty of them from the one transport alone!_

I run a rough estimate of the credits in my head...

_OH MY GOD! 23,040,000 CREDITS! I AM FUCKED! OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!_

I struggle to keep myself calm on the exterior as internally I'm having three heart attacks, "How much is the Sniper Rifle worth?" I ask without blowing my proverbial top.

_I'm screwed if they find out it was me... no wonder the commander was crying his eyes out!_

"The Reaper IV Sniper Rifle sells for 60000 credits." His smile falters for a split second.

I watch him for a moment, trying to see what he was nervous about.

_Well, it IS for both weapons._

I frown and speak with finality, "Ok, half of it is going to be store credit and I'm going to walk away with the Reaper IV and Edge III with a discount of 15000 credits due to how many trade-ins I sold to you." Surprisingly he just nods enthusiastically and quickly hands me the credit chit and two weapons cases.

He smiles as I stare at him in shock, "Have a wonderful day!" He calls to me as I leave through the open front door.

_What a strange encounter._

I stop my pace as I notice officers around the stolen skycar and quickly divert my path towards an ARTS podium.

_That commander must have called it in stolen, or someone saw it at _Circuits and More_ when I left._

A plain-looking skycar-cab lands in front of me and I nervously get inside, remembering what happened last time I used Rapid Transit as I toss the two cases into the back seats.

_I seriously hope this thing doesn't fail like that other one._

I sit back in the driver seat and look through the directory.

_Lets see... apartments, apartments... ah! Tower's Lights! It looks like it's located right between the markets and AAH, perfect location._

Setting the destination I suddenly feel like I was going to pass out as the cab speeds off in beyond-safe speeds. My eye-lids droop and I loose all feeling in my body...

* * *

_**You cannot escape me... You will die... The darkness will destroy you...**_ I jump awake from the nightmare and grip my newly acquired pistol case before relaxing and realizing I was at my destination.

_I really need-_

I deeply sigh as I rub my tired eyes.

_-to meditate on this._

I step out of the cab and shake my head clear before fixing my hood. I sigh tiredly and make a mental note to learn more about my biotics before grabbing the two weapons cases and approaching the futuristic-looking apartment building.

The tile entryway was lit up by the sign that hung overhead declaring that the apartment had vacancy. The interior decor mirrored the flowing ocean cycles that all Asarian architecture seemed to adopt. My normally silent steps echo annoyingly as I walk through the main lobby and up to the check-in desk where an Asari head-seep in her omni-tool sat.

_Young, impressionable, able to easily offen- Ok, I really need to stop doing that._

"Hi? I would like a room?" I ask loudly enough to catch her attention and a Turian's that was sitting off to the side reading a magazine.

The Asari looks up once then quickly back to her omni-tool but pauses and looks back up and gawks at me with wide eyes.

_Um... what's going on?_

She continues to stare at me in some sort of shock before I sigh and pull back my hood and close my eyes to take off the mask. "De-pressurizing suit." Lia comments in my ear as I feel the mask fall back into the collar of the suit. I open my eyes.

"Oh Goddess, you nearly scared be half to death in that suit!" She exclaims in relief before staring into my deep brown eyes strangely. I frown slightly as I see something familiar in her own that I've only seen in one other since I arrived in this universe...

Understanding.

"You wanted a ground floor room at the least amount of cost at the most strategic position." She states without tearing her eyes away from mine.

"Yeah." I respond calmly.

She smiles ever-so-slightly before accessing my omni-tool and taking the required 322 credits a night fee that I remember seeing outside for some reason, all the while never breaking eye contact. A sharp buzzing starts to catch my attention in the back of my head and I can feel my left hand start to twitch and shake so I clench it into a fist.

_There's a life beyond that of our own that sees us all Human. Take grasp of it and make sure you never let go._ She blinks and I take in a sharp intake of air before catching my breath and immediately looking to my left to find the Turian from before gone and so was the magazine.

I stop breathing and suddenly my mind focuses onto my memory of the magazine itself.

**_You need to know..._**

_The blue edges, picture of an Asari wielding her biotics on the front, one word on the top... Redemption._

I blink and my eyes widen since I'm now typing in the entry code to unlock the door to my apartment. The door accepts my code and it opens as the word slips my mind and I forget what happened between the main lobby and this door to my new apartment. I look down the hall and see a cloaked figure but it disappears when I try and focus on it.

_What just happened?_

I shake my head clear and walk into the apartment and lock the door behind me, "LIA, activate the lights."

_I have no idea why I just said that._

Surprisingly the lights activate and I'm looking at a relatively nice apartment. Which for some reason I remember that it rents for 322 credits a night or 10000 a month, but that fee covers everything from utilities to maintenance if I require it. As well as replacement of any furniture/appliances for no charge to the owner.

_Why do I know that?_

I set the weapon's cases onto a couch of some kind and answer my own question.

_Because I live here now._

The living room where I stand now is relatively small and had plain metallic gray walls with dark gray carpeting. I notice a coffee table of some sort in the center of the room and a really dis-proportioned chair I assume is for Turians on the opposite side of the couch. Directly across from the front door is where the kitchen sits with a strange Island-wall separating it from the living room, but not completely.

I walk over and look around to find everything standard and furnished in the Kitchen as well.

_Hmm... why does that surprise me?_

I shake my head and turn around to exit the kitchen and turn right to open the slide-door for the bathroom. Inside the very cramped space held a toilet, a sink with a mirror above it, and a small walk-in shower. Both the kitchen and the bathroom have tiled floors.

I take another look around the spacious (to my standards) apartment and sigh in contentment that I finally had moved out of my parents house.

_Not the way I wanted to move out but you take what you can get. At least this place is bigger then my room back home, I'd have been disappointed if it was smaller. If it could even get any smaller than 32 square meters of space._

I look around the apartment again before moving my weapons cases to the coffee table and sitting on the couch.

_Huh, this living room is larger then my entire living space back home alone._

I sit back and sigh in relief at finally getting to lay back and relax properly for the first time in-

My head jerks up and I'm alert once again.

_Oh wow, it's been nine days including today since I was dropping into this universe and I still don't have a job. Well... I have an apartment. That's something I guess, better then some other fiction writers I've read._

I let myself relax slightly and just take a moment to collect my thoughts.

_Ok, I'm no-longer broke with 112400 credits in my account. I have an apartment, biotics-_

I blink and think over that last part for a second.

_Holy crap! I'm a biotic!_

...

_I don't know how to think about that, I mean it's nice I guess? I'm more worried taht I might accidentally kill someone bioticly when I'm under deres._

Thinking about how I could try and get better control of my biotics I remember how Asari usually bioticly meditated to gain better control of their powers before and in-between combat. Which reminded me about how I was supposed to contact Liara as soon as I got an omni-tool.

_Damn it!_

Thinking back to the first day I was in this universe I skip over all the freaking out I did, and I did a lot, to find Liara's contact number and type it in on my omni-tool before the memory ended. Thinking about what to say I decide not to call her, but send her a message instead.

_Dear Liara,_

And my mind draws a blank.

...

I just start typing.

_Dear Liara,_

_Our initial encounter was not satisfactory to what I have come to understand as a beginning to our future friendship and I would enjoy meeting up with you if time permits, for tea or just lunch._

_Sincerely, _

_Scorpio_

I stare at the message for the longest time before shaking my head and hitting send just to get it out of my to-do list.

_*sigh* Well now that that's done maybe I can finally sate my appetite for knowledge._

Activating my omni-tool I access the Extranet connection that came with the apartment and search for 'ways to bioticly meditate'...

* * *

After hours of searching and searching the terribly vast Extranet for anything and everything having to do with biotics, especially Natural Biotics, I finally find a step-by-step instruction manual for biotic meditation off of AAH's website no less.

So now while I wait for a response from Liara, I read up on how to bioticly meditate and it's absolutely fascinating! It turns out there's a universal energy that biotics are sensitive to, which I figured out is called Dark Energy, and when we meditate before battle we're tapping that universal energy to fuel our biotics, allowing us to build and grow in strength and power.

_Huh, it's kind of like being a mage in Dragon Age Origins. Man if I meet Admiral Xen I will freak out! I loved how cold and calculating Morrigan was in DAO._

...

_That was random._

It takes me a while, and a lot of concentration, but I manage a spot of burning biotic energy while meditating on the couch the apartment came with.

_I still can't believe I'm a biotic! A human trans-dimensional natural biotic! It's insane! Impossible! Improbable, but it happened and I'm running with it... and now I feel a bit like Mordin. Seriously what is with all these random thoughts lately?!_

I let the glowing spot of energy die and take a moment to catch my breath.

_As I suspected meditating takes a lot out of you, just like using your biotics._

I look down at the time on my omni-tool and see it's almost 1400 so I decide to take a shower, the first real shower I've taken in over eight days in this universe. While taking my armor off and setting it aside in the small bathroom I notice my stubble had grown into a thin beard over the short time I was incapacitated.

_Ok, shower, shave, then a good night's rest hopefully._

I sigh contentedly as I step under the cool and refreshing water, my mind to wander back to my past. I remember the time the power went out during an ice storm to the entire city and because of that the water line froze over and the city couldn't fix it because the ground was frozen so everyone in the neighborhood had to shower outside for a week! I smile at the fond memory of standing on the deck while my mother dumped a bucket of water over my head.

_Haha! That was absolute hell. It's considered child abuse these days but it all turned out well for everyone back then so I'm not complaining. Expecially since I literally couldn't do anything about it if I tried. I'm not about to waste my time trying to talk to a social worker from across dimensions just to right a wrong that was done twelve years ago._

After the shower I end up wearing my under-suit since I haven't bought any clothes yet as I shave the old-fashioned way, with my dagger and a sink full of water.

Half-way through the delicate process of cutting hair off my face with a serrated knife I end up reminiscing on my own universe. The color of the leaves in Autumn, harsh Winters that bury everything in a meter of snow, beautiful and wet Springs that make way for a burning-hot Summer filled with insects and laughter...

I stop scrubbing my armor and blink.

_Which reminded me of Fable 2_

*sigh* I finish up cleaning my newly shaved face and smile that I looked like me again. I take some time to rinse off my armor since it was pretty much covered in a harsh smoky odor that I can't stand. Finishing that I catch my own eye in the mirror and I can see my own tired eyes for the first time since arriving here.

_I know I can never go back, nothing was left of that life now. My parents always said I adapted quickly, but this is just..._

I shake my head and sit down atop the lid of the toilet.

_Everything is different. The Reapers exist, Shepard exists, and the galaxy is really going down in flames..._

The images of what is to come flash into my vision, Saren, Sovereign, the Citadel, The Reapers, Shepard's death...

_I have to stop that when it happens. He/She doesn't deserve suffocating to death. I'll need to make a mental check list for what I should and shouldn't change later..._

The Reapers...

I cringe as I remember the reanimated flesh and corpses used to create foot-soldiers.

_I never thought about it before now but I wonder if the people who were indoctrinated by the Reapers know they became husks, cannibals, etc._

A shiver runs down my spine at the thought.

_I really don't want to see those things in person._

I hang my armor out to dry over the slide door of the shower and think about all the stories I've read and how everyone who was dropped into the MEU had a purpose.

_Ok, perhaps I need to do something? Why was I sent here? Am I supposed to end the war or something? Hmm... I don't want to think about it too much, it won't help my sanity. What should I do then? I guess I could train myself for joining Shepard? Yeah, it may be cliché, but I need a goal. It's the only way I'll make sure I stay sane and survive for... Holy crap... It's 2171! I'm 12 years prior to Mass Effect 1!_

I walk out of the bathroom and sat down on the couch with my new weapons cases and went to work an memorizing their construction and software.

_It's not so bad being here I guess. It's just new, like when I went to college._

Memories of the first day I stepped foot on campus assault my already blurring vision...

_I have got to stop walking into these things..._

* * *

I watch as I see a two year younger version of myself takes a deep breath and a step towards the community college I had joined. I paid the tuition with the money I made during my summer job, it was the best I could afford. I see myself open the doors and walk into the building before my vision blurred again...

* * *

Shaking my head to clear out the old memories I continue on with the weapons maintenance when something crosses my mind.

_I have to be careful if I don't want to get attacked for just existing. I'll need to know how to use my weapons, basic hand-to-hand combat experience isn't going to cut it, I'll look up where I could find a shooting range tomorrow. I need a day of rest._

I felt my heart ache at the thought of never going back home as I went over how to disassemble my pistol and sniper rifle again.

_This is my new life..._

I stand and set my completed weapons down on the coffee table at my feet and walk back into the bathroom. I carefully put on the now dry armor and look into the mirror before I wipe away a tear I hadn't noticed had fallen and cover my head with the thin hood. "This is my new life, no sense in dwelling on the past." I told myself for the second time that afternoon. I stare at the person in the mirror and nearly cry at how strong he looks.

_I'm not strong, I'm not brave, how am I going to save the galaxy? How CAN I save the galaxy?_

I run a hand down my face and pull up my mask. I let the HUD display connect and synchronize correctly before opening my eyes.

_This is who I am now, a dark shadow fighting in a city of aliens._

I open my omni-tool and start checking the diagnostics of my armor as I walk back to the couch and sigh as I sit down.

_I'll need to make them proud. Everyone from this universe probably depends on me becoming a big hero, but all I want is to live in peace, away from the chaos. I know it's a pipe dream but its all I can hope for now. The Reapers will come, and I have to be ready when they arrive._

Sheathing my dagger into its new housing I check my omni-tool for messages.

One from Liara, the Matriarch, Officer Rila...

"What the hell?" I whisper out load while opening the last message.

_From: Officer Rila_  
_To: User: AS13742_  
_Subject: Smugglers_

_Well I'll be damned, you actually do have a conscious! Thanks for the info, really needed a break on that smuggling trade. Wondering if we could come to some arrangement, you know... credits for info type of thing? Got to get back to work, I hate paperwork a lot! Call me up when you have time, well see how it goes!_  
_~R _

_(Enclosed is an authorized transfer of 100 credits into an account of your choosing)_

...

_What is she talking about? I never sent her any message. The only thing I did was call in that double homicide-suicide and-_

...

_Oh! Ok, now I see it. So that pistol WAS bought at that store! And I just realized that Circuits and More was probably a front for the Blue-Sun's smuggling operations. Huh... I guess this could work, earning a few extra credits on the side should be interesting, and selling some of the mods could make me rich! Wait... how did she know who sent the message? Is she spying on me?_

I shake my head at the thought and composed a reply message while using some tricks I learned off the Extranet to block my ID just in-case.

_Sender: Unknown_  
_Receiver: Officer Rila_  
_Subject: Trading_

_Rila, I'm glad the info helped, truth be told I actually crashed a taxi onto a hotel and just happened to crack open a cargo transport filled to the brim with Black-market mods on impact. Pure luck! Anyways, I'll be happy to forward some info as I get it, as long as you do the same, nothing illegal just reports on other potential targets (if you know what I mean). Anything helps, thanks again for saving my life back there._  
_~S _

_(Image attached: Austrailian-Scorpion-2013)_

And send, now for the Matriarch's.

_From: Matriarch Lidanya-Destiny Ascension_  
_To: Scorpio (Encryption broken temporarily by unknown user)_  
_Subject: Enrollment_

_Hello again Scorpio, I would like to once again thank you for saving my daughter, as per your request you have been enrolled into the Armali Academy for the Huntress and will begin class one week from today with Matriarch Aethyta as your personal Instructor. _

_We have altered your studies to accommodate a shorter lifespan. Because of this, you will be required to study fifteen years worth of material in five. The strenuous pacing may be extremely difficult for you. _

_After your final test on the fifth anniversary of your enrollment, you will graduate with your success and possibly die with your failure. Beyond Graduation you may choose to become a true Huntress, (which requires another three decades of study) or simply use your now extensive knowledge to live out your life how you see fit. Due to financial reasons, only the first year of classes are free. You will be required to pay the enrollment fee of 830,000 credits to continue for the last four years. _

_I understand how stressful this may seem, though as the first non-Asari to enroll in the history of the Academy you will be used as an outline for future inductees. I hope you will still consider studying at AAH and if not, then contact me directly and we will discuss what other things I could provide in the absence of your enrollment. May the Goddess go with you Scorpio._  
_~Lidanya_

"What... The... Crud! Oh my god!" I yell rather loudly as I quickly re-read the message.

_Yep, I inadvertently saved the daughter of the Commander of the Destiny Ascension AND in turn am now going to be personally taught by Liara's father in the way of the Huntress. Booooyahhh! How's that reality! Whoa! Holy hell that's just awesome, beyond awesome! It's EPIC! Although the credits concern me greatly, scavenging together 830,000 credits within a year is just insane, I think I can manage it. All I need to do is pull off one huge heist- on second thought maybe I should just get a job and avoid becoming the first Archangel to die on Thessia. I'm absolutely sure they're doing this in an attempt in forcing me to leave, but I'm not, I'll stay and fight for that degree! I am the only natural Human Biotic in existence according to the Extranet and I require massive training so I can hone my powers. I WILL NOT LEAVE AND DOOM THE GALAXY!_

"Ok ok calm down, you still need to do things today. No need to work yourself up over something you can't change." I told myself as I smile brightly at the new information about my future and took several deep breaths to calm the resulting burst of adrenaline.

_I guess I'm going to have a lot of work to do._

Remembering Liara's message I open it and frown.

_This thing is in... Prothean?_

Checking the lettering against what I knew I sigh.

_Yep that's Prothean, that girl is too smart for her own good._

* * *

The bright Thessian sun shines it's rays of existence and life through the passing skyscrapers and transports and into the front view window of the skycar-cab I hacked into and managed to get moving much more slowly towards my destination.

"God when is that sun going to quit!" I state angrily as I lower the brightness settings on my HUD again.

Normally I enjoyed the sunsets of the planets I'm on but today I just need a break. What with the explosions, dead bodies, and god forsaken psychotic breaks I keep having.

I sigh as the skycar turns a corner and out of the harsh red rays of the slow sunset.

_It took a while, but I managed to decrypt the message Liara sent me. It essentially said to meet her for dinner at her house up in the rich districts. I didn't think she would ask me so directly._

My hacked cab continued to speed off towards the per-programed address. I searched the Extranet for ways to alter the safety features of skycars and ended up hacking the cab in frustration at how insane the VI drives.

The cab flew at a moderate speed clear of a near-impact site near the markets and turned towards the mountains, and towards Benesia's estate. I lean forward to spot the white swoop of the mansion and notice that it was indeed built into the mountain side like Liara's message said, and to add to it's beauty it was lit up by fiery reds and oranges the encroaching sunset threw across the sky. It is magnificent.

_If I remember correctly Liara acted really strange the last time I saw her. Probably from having to treat my leg injury._

Flexing the now completely healed leg, I smile at the wonders of modern medicine.

_It didn't even scar._

The cab shifts to the left and slowly descends onto a landing platform outside a massive gate. Opening my omni-tool, I check Liara's message for the address and cross reference it with the cab's to confirm that I was indeed at the right location.

_The hour and a half... flight, wasn't as comfortable as you'd expect from advanced technology. It doesn't even have seat belts! Which I can understand since it has mass-reduction technology, but still!_

I step out of the glorified metal death-trap and am immediately greeted by an attendant typing away at her omni-tool. She takes one look at me standing in front of her in my full set of armor and calls security.

_Oh for the love of..._

"I'm here to meet with Liara? I'm Scorpio!" I shout as I the highly trained guards surround me as I stand in the center of the slate landing pad.

_It's impolite to hurt your host's guards after all... and I definitely know I can't take-_

I look around and count them.

_Yep I'm not going to do anything but what they say, I see twenty of them, 19.991 more then I can handle._

I shift nervously as the captain of the guard team of Huntresses walks forward and scans my omni-tool. She then immediately calls off her forces with a wave of her hand and turns to speak to me, "Sorry about that, I'm Captain Selsh, leader of Matriarch Benesia's security forces. Please enjoy your stay, but I would warn you against threatening anyone in this place. It could be... unhealthy." I ignore her prideful flaring of biotics and nod a thank you to her before walking through the now opening gates.

_I already knew she wouldn't try anything so why with the show?_

I sigh and close my eyes to just concentrate on the world around me.

_Ever since I woke up from that strange coma, I noticed that I could... feel things differently, like they held energy, everything even rocks and plants hold small bits of energy. I suspect this is what biotics feel all the time._

I look around and try to hold my focus a little bit longer before I suddenly have to stop due to how tiring it is, like usual.

_I've always been sensitive to, well, everything. So maybe this is over-sensitivity to the presence of Dark Energy in the environment? I don't know. Seems correct. The strange thing about it is that even when I close my eyes, I can see everything if I concentrate hard enough, it's just really grainy like it is now._

_Call me insane, but I think this resembles something I've read about in my searches for meditation guidelines. I think the website I was on said something about the stronger-willed Asari matriarchs using the natural energies of the universe to give them... Biotic Vision? Yes that's what it said._

_It's all really interesting, apparently since Dark Energy affects everything it touches, the Matriarchs have learned and refined different passive biotic abilities to assist them in combat. In theory only Natural Biotics are able to learn these abilities, they say that the biotic amps, that most Asari use, simply taps their own maximum potential and not the universe's. So the only way to learn how to tap into the underlining energies of the universe was to naturally develop your biotics without an amp. Making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for non-Asari to properly use them with ease. The naturally strong biotics, such as the some if not most Asari, could, with decades of work and meditation hone their biotic abilities without the need of an amp. This is, as you'd expect, quite unpopular with the maidens who's rebellious nature cause them to just get outfitted with an amp so they can lower the required training down to two or three years._

_Foolish since the power and control of completely Natural Asari Biotic's far-surpasses that of any amped ones by nearly twenty times!_

_If I read up on it correctly, it explained how the amps only worked as an On or Off system where you can't do precise motor controls with your biotics, such as pulling a glass of water towards you, without extreme care. Where as in a natural biotic, they could effortlessly reach for and grab the glass bioticly without any trouble what-so-ever due to their extensive training._

_Seems like a no-brainer for me. Amps suck, I'm so glad I'm going to train to not need one. Hard-wiring anything into your brain-stem is never a good idea in my books. Also, you can't dampen a natural biotic; they don't have amps so there isn't anything you can hack into to stop their biotics from building. Just another reason I'm going to do it the hard way._

"Hello sir, welcome to Matriarch Benesia's Monastery." I stop in my tracks and blink. Looking behind me I notice I'd walked a good hundred yards to the front door without even thinking.

_Huh, well at least I got a moment of peace with my thoughts. Didn't even think I was moving._

Turning back to the energetic Maiden that greeted me, I smile warmly and say as politely as I can, "Hello young one, it is very good to meet you."

She frowns at the _young one_ part, "Sir, I'm two hundred and thirty eight years old, I am not young." she states in aggravation.

_Of course, your about 34 in human standards, that's still young with an adjusted 150yr lifespan on humanity._

I look her up and down carefully and notice her posture was incorrect, her mannerisms were sloppy, and overall she was the worst educated Asari I'd seen since arriving here from my own universe.

_And that's saying something._

"No, but even though I'm only nineteen years old, I can sense your lack of experience." I look up and into her increasingly furious glare without blinking, "You may be 238yrs old, but the amount of life you've truly lived is only around 119, which in conversion to human years is only 17. Therefore I'm scientifically two years older than you in human terms, and 14yrs older in Asari. Live your life to the fullest child, you only have one, and sadly your behind." Her jaw drops and she stutters out that she didn't need to listen to me and how wrong I was. Before remembering where she was and sucking in her pride to guide me inside.

_A bit rude, but I know how to motivate people. Saying to a 238yr old Asari that you, a nineteen year old human, have done more with your life then she has really opens their eyes, and pisses a lot of people off but hey, what can you do._

She seems agitated but surprisingly doesn't show it as she curtly directs me through the curving and raising halls and passages of statues, wavy architecture and cooling colors that seemed to warm as the sun's setting light glowed through the windows and sprinkled heat across the entire monastery.

_So beautiful..._

I have to resist the urge to snap hundreds of photos with my omni-tool as the young maiden directs me into the dining room. I marvel at the massive room, the extremely high ceiling and streaming braces inter-locking with the windows to create a feeling of awe and wonder. Craning my head straight up I realize I was gawking and thank the Goddess for my suit's face mask.

_Definitely a plus to wearing a full-body suit, hiding your ridiculously stupid and mortifying expressions from the "elite" of the galaxy._

I ignore my furious blush and look down the huge table to notice twelve highly posh and decedent dishes surrounded by eight Asari Disciples, Shiala included, Liara, and last but definitely not least, none other than Matriarch Benesia, adorned in her favorite colored dress, yellow.

The Asari attendant that I pissed off walks forward and bows beside Benesia before speaking, "Mistress? Mr. Scorpio has arrived."

"I think I can introduce myself child." I said curtly, obviously noticing how much the attendant tried to embarrass me.

Everyone turns to look at me and all of a sudden I'm the center of attention.

_Oh, well here it goes. I hate first impressions. I think I remember the Asari Matriarchal greeting from a fanfict I read before dying and waking up here._

Pulling down my hood and mask, I made eye-contact with Benesia after she stands to address me personally. I see the near 1000 years of experience in her eyes as they seem to penetrate into my very soul.

I involuntarily swallow before bringing my right middle finger and pointer-finger over my heart, then to my lips, and lastly I wait a second before touching those two fingers to my forehead and bowing slightly as I swung my right hand low to finish the greeting. I stay in that extremely uncomfortable position while speaking, "Greetings Matriarch Benesia. I am humbled at being welcomed into such a prestigious establishment."

_My legs are going to collapse..._

I notice her hand gesture that let me stand and I quickly do so and hold my hands behind my back in respect as my eyes re-established contact with hers.

Everyone in the room, except the maiden guide, seems to gawk in surprise and amusement at my greeting. "We welcome you as well, Scorpio. Liara has mentioned you and your interest in her."

_Oh great, this is the 'meeting the family for approval' part of the evening._

I nod respectfully, "Yes, as she has no doubt told you, we met during an... incident about a week ago. She helped me out of it and I offered her compensation for her services in the form of a friendly cup of tea or coffee." I keep my composure and display a sense of confidence and control.

_At least I hope I'm displaying that._

She directs me to sit next to Liara at the table with a simple wave of the hand. I accept it and calmly walk over to the embroidered seat and sit.

"We, are about to say the opening prayer, would you give us the honor." Shiala says in her impossible to mistake separated vocal stature from across the dinning table.

_Really? I suppose they're trying to make me stumble._

"Of course." I fold my hands in front of me in Thane's praying position and take a deep breath to try and calm my still fraying nerves.

_Ok, I seriously hope I don't botch this._

I let my mind wander back to something I remembered from my studies on Asarian culture from back in my own universe, "My the Goddess protect us in our best of moments and darkest hours as we now feast thankfully on all she has given us." I say in the most commanding voice I can work up in a moments notice. I end up sounding like Shiala.

_Not bad, a bit short though._

I get a few nods of approval from the disciples. "Thank you Scorpio." Shiala says before everyone begins to eat their dishes at their own pace. I look around the table and try to locate something familiar before I remember I wasn't on Earth anymore.

_I haven't eaten Asarian dishes before. Maybe this is a good time ti try some out?_

I shrug and search the array of dishes for anything appetizing. I find a strangely blood-red salmon-looking fish with some blue sauce on the side. Reaching over I grab the dish and a utensil I believe is a fork.

_Doesn't look too bad._

I inspect the small serving cautiously before dipping the chunk of meat into the sauce and popping it into my mouth.

"Scorpio!" Shiala shouts as she practically jumps out of her seat. She stares at me as I chew.

_Uhh... did I miss something?_

I swallow the surprisingly spicy fish.

"How do you feel?" Shiala asks with a type of motherly concern I can only compare to, well, motherly concern.

"Fine, I guess. Why?" I ask back while watching her shocked reaction closely.

She blinks twice and stares at me incredulously, "That dish is among the most dangerous on the planet. The fish is toxic if it isn't ingested with the right amount of sauce, which is an anti-toxin of sorts." She states with even more concern then before.

My utensil drops onto the plate with a clang.

_What... The... Fuck..._

"So..." I look down at my plate worriedly. "I'm going to be fine right?" She doesn't answer me, and everyone's stopped eating at that point. "Right?" I ask while looking around the table, panic boiling just underneath the surface.

...

...

_Ok, this is just-_

"Yes, just refrain from digesting anymore and you'll be fine." Benesia states as calmly as if my life wasn't on the line.

I take a deep breath of relief and let it out slowly to steady my nerves. "Good, I was hoping to avoid being sent to a hospital with life-threatening injuries twice within a month." I joke quietly.

_I really hate hospitals. It's full of the sick and dying, not exactly my kind of place._

"Twice?" I turn to my immediate right and see Liara staring at me with a concerned and slightly curious look. I blink at her for a moment.

_Huh, forgot she was even here. Always quiet it seems._

I look around the table and realize everyone was waiting for an answer. I clear my throat and let myself speak, "I'm sure you've heard of an incident in the markets about eight days back? Involving a young Asari child and a Turian?" Liara nods and I notice Benesia and Shiala listening in more intently as well.

"Well, this is classified I assume so I wouldn't spread it around. I was there, I saved the child from being raped by the Turian. It's how I found out I was a biotic, I had just gotten extremely angry and protective of the child and had felt something boiling inside of me." I state factually.

I crease my brow in concentration as I remember the next part, "That's when I slammed so much biotic energy into the Turian that he went flying ass-first into the alley-wall! Pardon my language. The impact embedded him into the metallic structure with nearly every plate and bone in his body fractured or broken according the ME report I heard about." I notice a few of the disciples, Shiala included, staring at me intently.

I sigh and let myself remember the next part clearly, "I ended up nearly causing permanent neural scaring to myself from the exertion and getting hospitalized in a small coma for the last eight days. I just woke up early this morning." I look around to gage everyone's reactions.

Liara and Shiala seem to be in equal amounts of shock and Benesia looks strangely contemplative.

After a moment of silence I... feel the energy around Benesia... tighten? I can't really explain it. It just feels... strange, off.

_Is that what it feels like when someone uses biotics? What's she doing?_

"Who was involved in this, astonishing act of heroism?" She asks with a tinge of malice in her voice that seems so foreign compared to the color of dress she's wearing.

I frown intently at her, "It wasn't heroic, that Turian died during surgery at the hospital. My code of ethics is strict, I don't do things like that, ever. And if you must know, the child was the only daughter of Matriarch Lidanya. I can't say who the Turian was without provoking a political war so I won't." I cross my arms in anger and guilt at having to recite the second time I had one of these _incidents_ to complete strangers.

I keep eye-contact with Benesia and I watch as she relaxes again as a result.

I sigh in relief and look regretfully back to the poisonous dish in front of me.

_I have to get over it, I'm going to be forced to kill people while I'm here, I need to just make a code of morals, like the Justicar's code. Oh, I need to remind myself to look that up later._

I activate and raise my omni-tool, "LIA, can you remind me to look up the Justicar's code when I get home?" I ask my personal VI assistant.

"Of course Scorpio." It replies calmly and coolly like usual.

I smile at my omni-tool and say, "Merci, LIA."

_So glad I decided to build that VI. I'd be absolutely lost without it._

Looking around the table I see everyone was staring at me for a bit more before going back to their meals so I decide to do so as well, but remembering what happened last time I tried eating something new, I decide to stick to liquids.

_I seriously hope nobody decided to serve the Asarian version of Ryncol or something..._

* * *

The rest of the eventing went exceptionally well, Benesia talked, I made jokes to which some laughed, Liara even started coming out of her shell for a bit until Shiala made a joke about "little blue children" that made me choke on my water and Liara blush so violently that her skin looked dark purple for a moment.

At the end of the evening I declared that I needed to be getting home and Liara quickly stands to walk me out. I look over to her and smile as she looks at me with those beautifully innocent deep blue eyes and said, "I'm alright with that." While trying to hide my blush.

Benesia stands from her seat as we walk by and she looks me directly in the eye to say, "I approve of your continued involvement with my only daughter."

My eyes widen at the implication in her stone-cold stare and I swallow nervously before nodding my agreement.

_She is WAY more frightening up close then she was portrayed as in ME1._

Liara and I walk in silence through the empty and darkened halls. Nothing disturbing the peace between us but the occasional ray of starlight that barely illuminates the passage we're walking through.

I look out one of the large pane windows to notice the calming display of the ocean being pushed and pulled gently by the slow but steady rotation of the nearby star, as it silently watches over the Asari homeworld.

I sigh contentedly as a smile touched my lips and my eyes drifted to my left just enough to notice Liara was staring at me before she looks away, seemingly nervous.

_Well, I'm here so I mine as well try and keep a lasting friendship with her. I mean whether or not I succeed I'll have a second chance when we meet up with Shepard in twelve years. The thought of being on my own frightens me, but I've known social isolation before and I will no-doubt again suffer it's harsh waves in the fut-_

"Scorpio?"

I blink and shake myself out of my thoughts as I look at Liara in surprise before saying, "Yes Liara?" I look out of the corner of my eye and realize we were walking down a long path around the back of the T'soni estate.

She avoids looking directly at me while she fidgets with her hands.

While she tries and find her voice I notice for the first time tonight that her dress was a thin veil of eloquent blue and deeply silken aqua-marine that accented her light blue lip-stick and face perfectly as the dim white light of Thessia's starry night light up her vibrant skin to reflect the inner complexities that I see every-time I look into her intelligent and brilliant eyes.

_She is truly the most beautiful creature in the entire galaxy._

We're about two thirds around the coastal region of the property when Liara re-gains her voice.

She stops abruptly and I instantly turn after two steps to look at her, "I have had a wonderful walk Scorpio, but I must be going." She says with regret tearing deeply into her posture.

I analyze her for a moment before alleviating my own fears that I was the cause of her distress and smiling at her warmly, "Liara, your welcome to continue our walk, I am enjoying your company very much." I can feel my heart start to ready itself for her rejection as I watch her look over her shoulder and back at the mansion, her body language screaming her indecision.

_To anyone other then someone like us, the meaning of this moment would be easily misunderstood. Introverts are shy and as such very cautious of being put out of their comfort zone, even when it isn't perceived as dangerous they still wish to do it willingly and only after weighing all their options. I know how introverts work like the back of my hand, because its the back of an introvert's hand._

I take a quiet step forward and reach out to offer my hand as she notices something not quite right in the universe and spins around to stare at me in shock and confusion.

She looks at my hand curiously for a moment before something dawns on her face and her body language stands resolute. She finally figured out her decision.

I wait in equal eagerness and anxiety as she looks one last time over her shoulder at the mansion and then looks back at me and smiles, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "I have been enjoying myself as well, let us continue our walk."

I smile brightly and nod as I lower my hand and turn as she walks by, now completely willing to see if our future friendship was meant to be.

We walk along in our new-found contented silence while exchanging meaningful glances at one another and watching the beauty the night-time coast had to offer.

"I have had a wonderful evening Scorpio." Liara states in all honesty from how her posture speaks of her comfort as she stands just inside the gates to the T'soni estate.

I smile and nod to her, "I have enjoyed the evening as well and hope to do it again some time."

She looks at me, letting the unanswered question linger for a moment longer than normal and I could swear I could hear a crow caw in the distance during that short time period.

Finally, she looks at me directly, her posture now more uncertain then ever before and says, "My birthday is in a few days, and my mother and I have reservations at Sherilun, but she cannot come." She looks at me with a slightly hopeful expression that I picked up as _I don't have any idea how to fix this and I don't want to dine alone on my birthday._

So I nod and say, "I would love to accompany you to dinner Liara."

She blushes as her eyes widen from embarrassment and she starts fidgeting with her dress uncomfortably, "Oh! Um, thanks. I will see you the day after tomorrow then?"

I smile and say, "Yes, Liara, I'll see you then." I turn and walk ten paces up to the still awaiting hacked cab and get in before waving to Liara and taking off towards my apartment building.

Sitting back into the driver's seat I sigh contentedly at such a weird start to a hopefully strong friendship. The skycar jerks to the left as my hack finally wears off and I grip the seat in fear for my life as it dives into heavy traffic for another hellish ride of dodging, diving, and spinning until just when I think I'm going to hurl it lands in the parking lot of my apartment building.

I let the skycar open up and I sit there for a moment so I can pry my fingers form my seat before getting out.

I shakily stand from the shock of the ride and turn around to kick the damn thing angrily and stomp off towards the main lobby.

_I really need to hunt down whoever programmed those things and bioticly break their legs!_

I stop in my tracks as a brilliant idea pops into my head and I turn around to look at the skycar for a second, then a wicked smile grows across my face as I see my plan come together.

Oh, that will do nicely...

I flash my omni-tool to life and install a looping line of code into the basic VI of the cab, forcing it to malfunction and deny any requests from rapid transit. "LIA park the cab somewhere in the parking lot, I'll deal with it tomorrow." I say while turning to continue my path towards the apartment building.

I run my gloved hand over my face and sigh tiredly at the days events while walking through the lobby and purposely ignore the Asari attendant's stares. I approach my apartment door and unlock and re-lock it as I step inside. Suddenly all my exhaustion hits me and I turn around to fall backwards onto the couch, not even bothering to turn on the lights as I let the sweat and sinister allure of sleep wash over me as I pass out, still in my armor.


	6. Surviving Insomnia

A/N This one is a nice break from the insanity and the first real look into another character's life in the story. It may not be too long, but it ties in the story a bit and shows how some people just need a day off sometimes. :)

Read Review and Enjoy!

* * *

_An empty void... Something that somehow always comforted me. I watch without blinking as the inky blackness around me is flashed into its own demise as the existence of the universe begins._

_I watch as hundreds of billions of stars swirl and spin into their own deaths within what seems like seconds._

_I let myself focus on one galaxy in particular and watch in shock as I recognize it as the Milky Way._

_Before I can even think about what it means, my vision speeds up and I can see hundreds of thousands of explosions pulse out and surround the galaxy as it's galactic populations rose and fell. The image zooms up onto a system filled with hundreds of strange ships in intense combat with large squid-like ships, but I can't remember what they are called._

_I ignore them and focus on the system, a massive blue star dominates the system with it's four planets orbiting around it in succession. I watch as the second planet is bombarded and nearly destroyed by the absolute horde of thousands among thousands of squid ships..._

_Then it all stops. The movement stops, the barren planet starts to recover and I feel a strange need to reach out and grasp the planet in my palm before my vision goes back to the void and I can feel myself waking up..._

* * *

My eyes open and I look around in the darkness for a moment, trying to figure out if I was still dreaming or not.

_Am I blind?_

I frown slightly before saying, "LIA activate the lights." I shut my eyes tight to avoid getting blinded before I blink and my eyes adjust to the shear volume of the white light.

I realize after a moment or two that I'm laying awkwardly on the couch and slowly get up only to realize my back was stiff as hell.

I cringe as I stand up fully and crack my spine to release the pressure before sighing at the ensuing pops and cracks. "Ahh..."

Stretching my arms and legs I realize for the first time in years I woke up feeling actually refreshed.

_Maybe I need to take more walks with Liara. I could definitely benefit from all the good nights of sleep I'd gain as a result, and I'm sure she'll be fine with stepping away from the desk, or lab, or whatever to just enjoy life every once and a while._

Yawning as my mind started up, I check my omni-tool for the time before freezing up.

_Oh man, it's only 0400! I slept for three and a half hours!_

...

_Nice! That's a new record for a weekday!_

I smile at how great the day was starting before an ache in my stomach reminds me of how hungry I am, so I walk into the kitchen to find some food. I open the cabinets and find them empty and frown.

_What?_

I close the cabinet and open the small fridge to find one bottle of some energy drink named Tupari.

_What the heck? Oh! Right, I haven't gone out shopping yet! Huh, you'd think I'd remember that._

Taking the bottle of Tupari with me, I close the fridge and unscrew the cap while walking back to the couch to start a shopping list.

_I should get some other things as well._

I look around the apartment and let my organizational side take over for a moment.

_Ok, I'll need toiletries, sheets, blankets, clothes, food, omni-gel, medi-gel, bandages, ok medical supplies in general, some snacks, a few recipe applications for my omni-tool, some dry-goods in case of emergencies, a space-heater, a lot of coffee and Ramen if they have it, some upgrades for my newly requisitioned skycar, uh let's see... oh and last but not least, a holo-projector and some movies._

Reviewing my list I hum in contemplation before adding _blocks of ammunition_ to the list as well since I was going to need to learn how to fire my weapons some day, then I remember that you could order nearly anything over the Extranet in this universe and smirk deviously.

_Oh yeah, that'll do nicely._

Accessing my omni-tool I login to the Extranet and start my search for a good department store website with delivery.

* * *

Forty minutes later I'm finished ordering everything from _Foreigner's To Go_ and I'm now just waiting for them to be delivered.

_God was that expensive. I think I ended up spending a good 23,000 credits!_

I look at my transaction history for my EOFA account...

_Actually 22,870 credits, so now I'm down to 89,530. NOW I need to watch my spending more carefully, I'll definitely need to get a job to just break even at the end of every month. Not to mention the 830,000 credits I have to make by the end of the year to pay for AAH. Thats more than I've spent during my entire lifetime back in my home universe. I hope I don't need anything else._

Closing down my omni-tool I sigh in exasperation at how much inflation had increased since I left my home universe.

_Seriously, a bulk purchase of Ramen was like 300 credits for 120 servings! It's ridiculous! A Native fruit that was recommended as the equivalent of an Earth apple was 12 credits a piece! I don't even WANT to know how much all this would cost on the Citadel._

I let my frustration from my living situation slip my mind as I try and figure out how many calories I need to eat daily.

_If I'm a biotic then don't I need an intake of like 4,000 calories daily? I'm not really looking forward to that bill._

I shrug and finally pack up my weapons and move their cases under the coffee table before hopping on and sitting down cross-legged to meditate.

_I've needed to do this for SO long._

I think over all the events of the last nine days...

_Ok, I woke up on a park bench with a gash on my left leg and absolutely no idea where I was until I recognized Liara as she treated my leg with the first omni-tool I've ever seen in real life and now I know how it feels to be treated by medi-gel as well._

I open my eyes and stare at the wall to the right of my front door for a moment.

_Holy crap, that was just the first half hour!_

I shake my head in shock before closing my eyes and thinking back to what else happened on the first day...

_I spent four hours selling my IPhone after nearly having a heart attack from the first skycar ride I've ever experienced. Then I had to deal with a crazy Salarian before tinkering on my newly acquired omni-tools and meeting the first Quarian I've ever seen and trading a thousand credits for LIA, my personal VI assistant._

...

_How the hell did I survive ANY of that?_

I just ignore the thought as I remember the second incident I've ever had in which someone died...

_Oh man._

I lower my head as guilt wraps its cold hands around my heart.

_That Turian was a leader of his people, and I killed him for one incident of indecency._

A small part in the back of my mind reminds me that I have to be subjective and un-bias in my judgments if I want to live up to the legend of Scorpio. I shake my head.

_That's no reason to kill someone without knowing all the facts._

I remember the fearful look in the little Asari girl's eyes when he punched her into submission and my fists clench tightly as I try and contain the anger that I felt when I spelled out that bastard's death. I open my eyes as I feel my connection to my biotics strengthen and I notice a blue haze lifting off of my armor in waves as I struggle to hold myself steady.

_I need to calm down._

I let my memories shift to when I turned around in the hospital and saw that the child was alright. I let that feeling wash over me and my biotics calm down and weaken before collapsing entirely. I left up my hands and look at them in contemplation.

_All that power in my fingertips, and I have no idea how to control it..._

Suddenly I remember AAH and all the supposed training it offered for Natural Biotics.

_I seriously hope they can teach me, I feel like a wild animal ready to go on a killing rampage at any moment._

I run my gloved hands over my face and just breath in and out, trying to comprehend how dangerous I could really be if I actually lost control. All the innocent people I could kill in I thought it necessary...

_I can't handle any more blood on my hands if I want to keep my sanity. I need to learn EVERYTHING about my powers and I NEED to control them completely._

Now filled with a new resolution, I delve deeper into my memories and let the rest of my time here slip away into the back of my mind while I pulled everything I already knew about biotics to the fore-front of my mind.

_Take a deep breath, visualize an orb..._

Letting everything else leave my mind I close my eyes and I can feel the edges of my fingertips start to tingle with untapped energy.

_Reach out and grasp the orb mentally without physically touching it..._

I spread my fingertips over my lap and my heart-rate accelerates as my skin starts to subtly vibrate.

_Visualize a star, burning it's massive energy off in one instant, exploding outwards only to spin in it's own gravitational field and collapse back into the core, then do so with your own inner potential.. This part is the difficult one._

I focus on my own center and let the tingling lift off of my fingertips and stay within my sphere of influence over my lap before tensing every muscle in my body in concentration.

The field of blue energy collapses into a small marble of burning biotic energy and I feel my mind struggle to keep it steady as I count the seconds.

_One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Si-_

I gasp for breath and fall forwards onto the surface of the metal coffee table as my head and spine burns from the exertion.

_God... I-_

I grab the bottle of Tupari next to me and chug all 16 ounces before gasping for breath again and laying flat on-top of the coffee table, trying to avoid passing out as the edges of my vision darken.

The moment passes and I re-gain control of my breathing as my vision clears up.

_Oh frick... that was A LOT worst then last time._

Dragging myself off the coffee table I lean back into the couch and lift my hand to my nose and sigh as I find it bleeding like last time I tried this.

_Oh great..._

I carefully stand and stagger my way into the bathroom before running the sink and splashing some water on my face to shock myself out of it. Surprisingly when I look at myself in the mirror my nose bleed looks like it's stopped.

_Ok, I'm definitely going to avoid doing that again until I know more about biotics._

I splash some more water in my face and wipe it off onto my sleeve since I still don't have any towels.

_How long has it been?_

*Ding* *Ding*

...

_Please tell me I'm not hearing things again._

*Ding* "Scorpio it seem as if your packages have arrived." LIA comments from my omni-tool.

"Oh thank goodness." I breath a sigh of relief and pull up my mask while covering my head with my hood.

_No need to show people your face unless they ask for it._

Walking out of the bathroom I move around the couch and unlock the door. It opens to a Turian with green clan markings typing away at his omni-tool while two others with identical markings stood behind him looking really tired.

"Can I help you?" I ask as I bend my neck up to look the first Turian in the eye from behind my HUD display that painted his outline as orange which according to the manual meant they were only slightly dangerous. I let my eyes drift to where their talons were before looking him in the eye again.

_Slightly my arse those things can cut me the tissue paper!_

The Turian blinks once at me and looks back at his omni-tool for a moment before sighing and scowling as he reestablishes eye contact, "So, you're the guy we're delivering to _Human_?" His two-toned voice hits me as aggressive.

_Ok, now I'm glad I put my mask up._

I ignore the under tone and nod, "Yeah, there's probably twenty or thirty crates-"

"We have one hundred forty seven to be shipped to this residence." He states factually.

I ignore the fact that he cut me off and stare at him for a moment before sighing deeply and walking past him and down the hall, "Ok, where'd you park?"

I can hear their heavy steps come up behind me as I reach the lobby, "Just to the left next to some guy's cab."

I cringe internally and hope they didn't scrape the paint off or anything.

We walk out the front slide-doors and I look over to find a five meter long cargo transport parked awkwardly so the back was sitting within eight feet of the front door.

_Ok, well..._

I turn to the Turians and they walk past me after they realize I had no idea what to do. "Come on, your products are in sections eight through twelve." The head Turian states as he types up and unlocks the first section.

The outer wall sections off and slides up like a garage door to reveal at least thirty half-cubic meter crates. I look to one of the other two Turians and he frowns at me and crosses his arms. I shrug and look back to the crates.

_This is going to take a while._

Picking up the nearest crate I walk past the Turian's, through the lobby, and set it to the left inside the apartment before walking back outside to find them still standing there glaring at me.

*sigh* "I'll pay each of you 200 credits if you help me with the crates." I comment while grabbing another cube. The head Turian shrugs and waves his hand for the other two to help out. I nod thankfully towards him.

_Thanks man, glad to see you get over your prejudice._

* * *

It took twenty minutes for all three of us to stuff the crates into my apartment and afterwards I gave the two Turian's that helped their credits and raised an eyebrow at the one that didn't kelp out before he growls at me and I decide I should just take the hit financially rather then literally.

The door closes and I turn to stare at the 140 crates. The Turian's didn't stack them, they just set them down wherever and now they dominate the apartment. I lower my mask and pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance before taking a deep breath and getting started with the unpacking. I kneel down next to the first crate and activate my omni-tool to unseal it.

_This is going to take a while..._

* * *

"There." I set the last of the surprisingly collapsible crates on top of the stacks I made up against the wall next to the door. I call up my omni-tool and check the time, 1600 GST, I shrug since I knew it would take a long time and walk through my freshly cleaned apartment to make some dinner.

_I should really learn how to cook in this universe before I do anything._

Scanning the oven-looking appliance with my omni-tool I ask, "LIA do you know how to run this?"

...

"Yes, the RTA Cook-All kitchen appliance is ratted as an infrared oven with multiple settings designed to cook a range of dishes for nearly every species, including a sterilization option for Quarians. It is the only one of it's kind on the market to cater to both dextro amino and levo amino species." It states as if it was trying to sell it to customers at a mega-mall.

I look over the digital display and notice one side labeled dextro and the other for levo, then each side sectioned off to each individual species.

_I can't find the temperature setting anywhere!_

"LIA how does it cook the food." I ask while continuing my maddening search for a temperature setting.

...

"Through selective DNA sampling to identify what time is required to thoroughly cook whatever dish you decide to use it for. Note: This appliance is not rated for any dishes outside roasts and a variety of stews."

I look at my omni-tool for a moment, trying to decide whether I should upgrade my VI to have a bit more personality before I turn back to the practically useless device in front of me.

"Does it at least have a working stove top?" I ask LIA hopefully.

_If I can't use the oven then please can I use the stove top?_

...

"Yes." I sigh in relief before taking opening the cabinet I stored the 1200 credits worth of stove-top graded cookware.

_SO glad all this wasn't a waste._

Placing the pan on one of the burners I look around where the knobs are usually located to find it blank with a small icon that looks like an-

My eyes widen and I call up my omni-tool before connecting it to the stove and activating the burner remotely.

_This thing is awesome! I can control the entire appliance from my omni-tool! It even gives feedback as to what's on in the apartment! Say goodbye to the days where we had to worry about leaving the stove or TV on when we go out!_

I excitedly open the fridge and take out something that I thought was impossible when I bought them, de-yoked eggs!

_I can't even believe I was able to find them online! They were in the health-nut section of the web-page. No-longer do I have to separate yoke from protean when cooking eggs the way I like them. Sure they cost 2 credits more per carton, but at least I'm not just throwing the yokes away like I used to do back in my home universe._

I think back to all the weird foods I found in that section of the web-page, 0% genetically modified cow milk, meat bars, instant calamari soup, freeze-dried Varren liver...

_I don't even get why those are being sold in the Human section, we eat weird things yes, but not THAT weird._

I grab a knife and cut up a native plant called M'kish, that I was promised wasn't toxic to Humans, and add it with some (also guaranteed non-toxic) fish whose name I can barely even pronounce let alone spell, to the pan. I flip the side of the eggs over and make it into an omelet.

_Just like every morning when I wake up early from nightmares and decide to make breakfast for everyone._

I close my eyes and block out the fond memories to avoid bursting into tears.

_I'm still not ok with being thrown against my will into this place. It's an opportunity no doubt. An opportunity to start over and become a mass murdering psychotic biotic with no remorse._

...

_I think I'm going to get along just fine with Jack when I meet up with her, maybe we'll write poetry together, start a novel. Hmm... It's 2171, so Jacks ten years old right now..._

I stop cooking for a second as a realization dawns on me.

_Jack is being tortured right now..._

...

_Oh damn it, and I thought I was going to have a nice day!_

I let the thought linger in my mind as I plate my omelet and notice the stove automatically turns off when the pan leaves the surface.

Now that's useful.

I grab a random flavored bottle of Tupari from the fridge and walk with my plate into the living room where I sit down and turn on the holo-projector I positioned behind the couch with some surround sound boxes that were a pain to find and install. I sit back and select an Asarian drama/romance I found that was highly recommended on the Extranet.

"LIA dim the lights, 60%." I smile contentedly as the lights dim and the movie starts.

Good thing I remembered at the last minute to get the English version.

_Let the Lies Wander, an Arin Elcor Production..._

_..._

_..._

"Well... Damn it!" I shout in frustration as the first scene shows two Elcor talking while slowly walking along what looks like a sidewalk.

_"(With barely contained exasperation) I wish I could understand you Torin, all your life you throw away females like containers of waste, they do not deserve that."_ The Elcor on the left states while shaking it's massive head side to side.

The Elcor beside the first looks off into the distance and the camera angle shifts to his perspective as he looks out towards the sunset, he looks strangely contemplative as a Salarian's voice speaks his thoughts, _He will never understand what inner turmoil I have, the only female I love is the Asari counselor._

My eyes widen in shock at the plot twist.

_Ok, maybe I'll just watch it until I'm done eating..._

* * *

Four hours later the screen flashes from the last touching moment of the most well-acted drama/romance I'd ever seen and I clap enthusiastically for a moment to show how amazing I thought the movie was.

I calm down and take a deep breath as I remember the best and worst parts of the movie. When Torin rushes into the counsel chambers covered in flowers to declare his love for the Asari Counselor. When the Counselor reveals to him in public after a month of courtship and says she's secretly bonded to another Asari and is keeping it a secret even from the Asari Republics and she's using him as publicity.

_Goddess..._

I smile as I remembered my favorite moment of all.

_When Torin broke up with his new girlfriend he got to make the counselor jealous right after his mother died and as a result he commits suicide just as the Asari Counselor came to apologize and confess her eternal love, I cried. It was so sad._

I wipe my face with a napkin and commit the movie to permanent memory as I walk my empty plate and Tupari bottle to the kitchen.

_What a wonderfully non-chaotic afternoon._

I deposit the plate into the sink and the bottle into the trash before bringing the lights up to 100% and just enjoying the peaceful evening I was having.

I look out the window above the stove-top and see hundreds of skycars flying around like the insane little death-traps they are. Sighing contentedly, I turn and walk back into the living room to sit on the couch before changing the holo-projector to a news channel I heard about.

"Welcome to the Armali News Network, I'm Helen Peram." An Asari wearing a weird dress says directly to the camera as she walks down a street with people passing by without a care. "Tonight's big story; organized crime is struck a deadly blow as conflicts between rival Eclipse and Blue-Sun's groups boil down to a deadly explosion at a local hotel." She raises her left arm as she walks towards the camera and a silent video of a skycar crashing onto the top of a hotel comes on screen.

_Ohh... that's not good._

"As you can see, the resulting explosion engulfed the entire fleet of transports owned by the widely known Taseri Hotels mere minutes after impact." The screen shows the explosions in high-def resolution and then the camera zooms in as the smoke clears slightly to stop on a black and fuzzy figure holding a crate and running away from the scene.

_Oh..._

I cringe as I recognize myself.

_Well, at least they can barely recognize my suit, it's just a fuzzy figure._

"Police suspect this individual to be the culprit behind what they consider an act of terrorism as no one could have accidentally crashed into the landing platform at such high speeds."

I frown at the screen, "They are TO able to accidentally crash into the building if their navigation fails and they have no idea how to drive the damn thing!"

_Calm down, calm down Dylan, there's no reason to be frustrated for getting framed a terrorist for crashing a cab into an obvious Blue-Sun's smuggling operation._

I look up and watch as they play the video of me knocking the Blue-Sun's trooper out and taking off as the rest of the troopers come out of the smoke cover and start shooting at the skycar as it passes the camera at tremendous speeds. The camera freezes on the skycar and even though it's really fuzzy and blurry you could still make out my completely black outline from the driver-side window.

_Well... frick. There goes my peace of mind, but I did look awesome when I took out that trooper._

The screen goes back to the reporter, "Thankfully no-one was killed in the tragedy-" She pauses and blinks before looking directly at the camera in shock, "This just in, it appears the well known electronics shop Circuits and More has not only suffered a double homicide of the two owners and suicide by the murderer," The screen changes to live footage of the store and the police carting away the bodies. "but is now being investigated by the authorities as being an accessory to the hotel bombing due to civilian sightings of a mysterious black figure arriving at the scene moments before the police arrived from an anonymous tip."

"Oh come on!" I shout at the screen.

The screen shifts back to the reporter, "Upon further investigation the police found the mysterious black figure's getaway vehicle abandoned two blocks down the street," A still image of the police checking the skycar is put onto screen and at the bottom left corner I see the edge of my heel barely in the picture as I turned away. "parked outside of a local guns and hardware store The Chained Krogan," Another still image of a crazy-looking Salarian firing at the police officer's, two Asari, comes on screen. "who's owner was going to be brought in for questioning before he pulled out two pistols on the officers and screamed, 'eclipse forever', before authorities gunned him down."

_Uhh... that is just, terrible. Absolutely terrible. Now I not only have to worry about them tracking the stuff I sold to him back to my account, but I can't be seen outside wearing my armor anymore! God damn it! I mean his death is disconcerting and a tragic loss of life but the living are in more danger at present!_

The reporter blinks as the screen goes back to her and she says, "The police have therefore linked all three incidences to fighting between the well known Eclipse and Blue-Sun's mercenary groups."

_Oh, well at least they won't be _only_ focused on finding me._

She pauses again before saying, "This just in, the APC have declared a formal statement."

_Wait, what? So soon?_

I lean forward and watch the holo-screen intently. It shifts to what looks like a podium with the APC banner in violet behind it as an Asari adorned in military robes stands proudly and behind her to her right I see-

_Holy crud... that's Officer Rila!_

The Asari at the podium looks down for a moment before looking directly into the camera and saying, "This tragedy alone has caused over 40 million credits in property damage, cost the lives of four people, and forced our streets to become unsafe in the eyes of the citizens. We at the APC have seen this city through it's harshest times and have decided to respond to the worst tragedy in two decades to befall this great city with a campaign to eradicate organized crime and arrests will be made in according to this goal. Thank you."

_Ok, now I'm starting to get worried at how I'm changing the course of events. Also, THIS is the worst tragedy to befall the city in two decades? There used to be a homicide a week in my hometown, and that was on the year in which arsine of commercial buildings was on the rise!_

I shake my head and turn off the holo-projector, I'd seen enough news to last me at least another week or so.

"That report was ridiculous..." I state in slight disgust at how much 'this just in' was used.

_It's supposed to be for emergencies not day-to day tragedy!_

I sigh in resentment for a moment before getting curious about what the APC was going to do.

_I kind of have a hand in the entire mess to I mine as well keep myself informed._

I call up my omni-tool and say, "LIA call Officer Rila from the APC for a video chat." While taking off the main body of my suit and throwing on one of the dark gray shirts I bought to avoid looking like the person on the news.

"At once Scorpio."

The display on my left arm folds up and into a good sized video-chat screen. The black projection displays a spinning buffering symbol in the middle of the screen for a moment before Rila's face is shown, "Hello?" She says while looking at me for a moment before recognizing me. "Oh Scorpio, what is going on?" She rubs her eyes tiredly and I realize I just woke her up since she looked like she was still in bed.

_Well, I'd better be brief if I don't want this to drag on._

"I saw you on the news just now, I was wondering what was going on since the last time we met was in a hospital." I smirk as a mood setter that the conversation would be informal.

She yawns and shakes her head before looking at me, "Yeah, this stuff is insane. First I get called out to a possible stabbing on the west side of Armali, then I find out about the attack on transit and have to turn around across three lanes of rush-hour traffic to get over there since it was an 'all hands on deck' type of thing." I nod in understanding to show I was listening. Her eyes sharpen for a moment, "After we figure out that the explosion was intensionally done on a Blue-Suns shipment we were going to turn the other way since it was usually a dead end in these types of things. That's when the commander of the Blue-Suns calls his car in missing at the same instance that an anonymous tip from you is sent about a double homicide and suicide in the Markets!" She shakes her head in exasperation as she finally sits up out of bed and rolls her neck.

_She's been working A LOT lately._

She takes a deep breath and looks back at the camera, "And then as I'm processing the crime scene ANOTHER call comes in about a spotting of the commander's stolen skycar just two blocks down the road so I tell the officers there to question whoever they can." She frowns, "After I heard that the owner of the store there committed suicide by firing upon the officers we looked around but couldn't find any connection. Until we found a crate of Blue-Suns merchandise under the counter." She shakes her head and looks into the camera apologetically, "I am sorry, I have had a hellish couple of days and it is not right of me to push my problems onto you."

I smile at her, "I studied psychology Rila, I'm used to listening to people's problems."

She smiles weakly, "Thanks, anything new with you? I know we only met once, but drop-out psychologists should stick together right?"

I nod and snort a laugh, "You got that right."

_You don't even KNOW how terrible my last few days have been._

I filter out the incriminating or psychotic things, "Well, aside from the two incidents you know about the only things that have been a bit strange would be how I was at that store that I called in the double murder/suicide for the same night I confronted the Turian General in the alley."

Her eyes widen, "No kidding."

I nod, "Yep, and I even had a conversation with the owners while I was there about a crazy Salarian that was running around."

She frowns slightly, "Really?"

My eyes widen, "Yeah, really. That's why I went back there after leaving the hospital, I was going to take a better look at their stock and I ended up walking in on the few first aliens I really ever met lying dead on the floor. That's when I sent the tip."

She smiles, "I always knew I felt something strange about you. Your honest, I like that."

I watch her intensely for a moment, trying to get the underlying meaning of her words to make sense. Shaking my head I decide the conversation needed to end, "Alright, lets hope these nest few days are better than the last."

"May the Goddess watch over you Scorpio." And she cuts off the connection.

_Huh, so apparently everything I did was connected? That makes sense I guess._

I stifle a yawn and check the time to find it was about time for me to get to bed if I wanted to get my standard three hours of sleep.

_It's nice that I was finally able to relax for a day, kind-of, maybe. I'll try again next week and see if anything turns out better._

I unlock and take off the rest of my armor before folding it and the under-suit into a crate and sealing it before stuffing it under the coffee table with my weapons cases.

_I really need to get to a shooting range and figure out how to fire those things properly._

Throwing on some shorts I look back to the couch and tap the one button that was hooked up to it via omni-tool. The entire back folds down and pushes out automatically until it's up against the wall and the middle section of the futuristic futon slides into place from both sides.

_I love doing that._

I crack open a crate I labeled 'bedroom' and take out a neatly stacked pair of sheets before placing them appropriately on the 'bed'. Then I take out a blanket and two pillows. I kick the crate away and climb over the 'bed' to lay down on the surprisingly stable and soft surface.

"LIA turn off the lights and remind me to go to the shooting range tomorrow." I think about what else I have to do and remember I'm meeting Liara for dinner and that I wanted to work on that requisitioned skycar I have forcefully parked outside. "Oh, and also about my skycar, dinner with Liara, and anything else I have on the to-do list."

"Of course Scorpio." It responds, slightly muffled from being under the sheets.

_Ah! Almost forgot to take these things off._

Sitting up I slide off the omni-tool bands and set them in a charger I found online.

_I have no idea how long their batteries last, but I am not going to take any chances with this type of technology._

Laying back down, I wonder what everyone else is doing back home.

_Are they searching for me? Have they found my body or am I actually in the Mass Effect Universe?_

I shake the thoughts from my head and focus on things that are important.

_I wonder what everyone in this universe is doing..._

Remembering what I can from Mass Effect Wiki I try and figure out what exactly everyone else is doing while I lay there staring into the dark room.

_Shepard's joining the Alliance next year so he's seventeen, Tali's ten years old, so is Jack, Kasumi is eleven, Ashley's thirteen. Huh, since my birthday is in October and it's, well, November by the Earth calender I think, and I'm eighteen right now so apparently I'm now older then Shepard?_

...

_Oh my god that is SO going to be brought up when I join the Normandy! Haha! That's awesome._

I smile for a second before I remember what year it is and what just happened last year.

_Oh god... Mindoir... I hope Shepard didn't go through that. He/she might be in the running for the most insane person in the galaxy then, and I don't need anymore competition! In all seriousness though I really hope Shepard was a spacer like I kept all my Shepards at back home. it just never felt right forcing trauma onto someone more then the one required game to see if anything good changes to get better._

I shake my head and re-focus myself.

_Ok, I think L3 amps were created last year as well so if I did want an amp, which I don't, then I could avoid a lot of migraines and even MORE crippling insanity then I already deal with. Haha! Yeah I am definitely going to have some nice conversations with the crew when ME1 comes around. That is, IF I survive that long._

I take a deep breath and remind myself how dangerous all this was before moving on.

_Oh! The Batarians closed their embassy this year! Which means even more people are going to resent me, great, you know I haven't seen one other Human besides myself the entire time I've been on Thessia. I mean I know it's only 2171 but I'd expect to see one. I don't want to be the only Human on the planet, it puts too much pressure on me to be the sole representative of my species on the Asari Homeworld._

...

_Lets see... Cerberus assassinates the Pope in 2171! I'm not religious but it's a big deal for Cerberus and since the death was ruled natural due to his heart giving out from Cerberus' toxic rosary beads it shouldn't be an event I need to remember. I need to look up all the recent history of the mid-west and the United States, Earth in general actually. I don't need to look stupid when I do meet another Human and we get to talking about, well, Human stuff I guess._

...

_Did I just think 'Human stuff'?_

...

_Yeah I'm tired, the rest can wait 'till morning._

I let the softness of the sheets and 'bed' lull me into hopefully a dreamless sleep...

* * *

Rila just lays in bed, unable to get to sleep. Scorpio flooded her mind when she slept and she was starting to think she was obsessed.

"He's just a Human." She tells herself for the thousandth time today.

Then why can't I get him out of my head?

She sighs and closes her eyes only to see his face, to see his smile, to remember his laugh, and she inadvertently smiles in false contentment that all will be alright, if only for a moment. She reminds herself of where she is and holds back a strangely empty feeling when she tightens her grasp on her bed sheets and finds herself alone.

I need to get to sleep. She takes her secondary pillow and hugs it as she tries to get to sleep for the fourth time.

She feels herself drift ever-so slowly into her own personal bliss...

*beep*

She snaps her blood-shot eyes open and stares into the dark room, hoping she was dreaming.

*beep*

"Oooh!" She complains as she rolls over to grab her omni-tool from her nightstand charger and slips it on before seeing the message is a video call and opening it tiredly.

"Hello?" She says while looking at the barely visible screen while her vision re-adjusted to the light. She perks up slightly as her heart beats harder from recognizing who was calling her. "Oh Scorpio, what is going on?" She rubs her eyes tiredly while trying not to panic.

_Oh Goddess! Why? Why why why why! Why him?!_

"I saw you on the news just now, I was wondering what was going on since the last time we met was in a hospital." Scorpio says with a smirk that forces Rila to bite her cheek to keep herself from smiling like an idiot.

_Why does he do this to me every-time I see him?!_

Rila yawns and shakes her head before looking at the screen and remembering the press release, "Yeah, this stuff is insane. First I get called out to a possible stabbing on the west side of Armali, then I find out about the attack on transit and have to turn around across three lanes of rush-hour traffic to get over there since it was an 'all hands on deck' type of thing." She remembers the next part and her eyes sharpen from her internal frustration.

_Why couldn't the OTHER officers on duty do all of this?! I was still exhausted from staying up throughout the night to see Scorpio wake up out of his coma for Goddess' sake!_

"After we figure out that the explosion was intensionally done on a Blue-Suns shipment we were going to turn the other way since it was usually a dead end in these types of things. That's when the commander of the Blue-Suns calls his car in missing at the same instance that an anonymous tip from you is sent about a double homicide and suicide in the Markets!" Rila sits up out of bed and shakes her head before rolling her neck to crack it.

_I wonder how long I have been awake, probably twenty eight hours now. _

She takes a deep breath and looks back at the screen before speaking, "And then as I'm processing the crime scene ANOTHER call comes in about a spotting of the commander's stolen skycar just two blocks down the road so I tell the officers there to question whoever they can." She frowns angrily and takes a deep breath before continuing, "After I heard that the owner of the store there committed suicide by firing upon the officers, we looked around but couldn't find any connection. Until we found a crate of Blue-Suns merchandise under the counter."

_I cannot believe I am spilling my guts to him, it is so rude of me._

She shakes her head and looks into the camera apologetically, "I am sorry, I have had a hellish couple of days and it is not right of me to push my problems onto you."

Scorpio smiles at her and she feels her stomach tighten, "I studied psychology Rila, I'm used to listening to people's problems."

Rila feels a blush coming up her neck and tries to fight it as she smiles weakly.

_Why do I feel so nervous around him?_

She continues the smile as she says, "Thanks, anything new with you? I know we only met once, but drop-out psychologists should stick together right?" Rila internally cringes from the bad joke.

_Why did I say that!_

"You got that right." She looks at the screen in shock, she didn't offend him!

_Why do I care if I offend him or not?! I barely know him!_

Rila swallows nervously and waits intently for Scorpio's fill of his day. "Well, aside from the two incidents you know about the only things that have been a bit strange would be how I was at that store that I called in the double murder/suicide for the same night I confronted the Turian General in the alley."

_Really?_

Rila's eyes widen, "No kidding."

_That is weird._

He nods, "Yep, and I even had a conversation with the owners while I was there about a crazy Salarian that was running around."

_Wait, what?_

She frowns slightly and looks at the screen sceptically, "Really?"

Scorpio's eyes widen, "Yeah, really. That's why I went back there after leaving the hospital, I was going to take a better look at their stock and I ended up walking in on the few first aliens I really ever met lying dead on the floor. That's when I sent the tip."

_I remember, that tip somehow got me thinking about you._

Rila involuntarily smiles as she says, "I always knew I felt something strange about you. Your honest, I like that."

She freezes up as she hears her own words. She starts to panic even more when Scorpio just stares at her for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "Alright, lets hope these nest few days are better than the last."

_End it! End it now!_

"May the Goddess watch over you Scorpio." She says quickly before terminating the connection and lowering her head in total confusion.

_What was all that? Was I, flirting with him?_

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head violently, "No! Nonono! I am not that type of person!" She shouts out-loud to no-one but her empty, unfurnished room.

She sighs angrily and looks around miserably at how barren her life was now that she moved out of her parents house.

_It has not been the same since I left. Nothing has..._

She falls back into her pillow and closes her eyes, trying to avoid any weird dreams about a certain Human while she rests for her early-morning shift in five hours.

* * *

A/N So... What do you guys think about what's going on so far? I'm curious for your opinions! :)


	7. Growing Roots

A/N Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Oh, and to whoever sent the strongly worded Private Message scolding me for not having a disclaimer, IT'S ON MY PROFILE PAGE so please back off. ;)

* * *

Inside the dark apartment that once was home to a Turian scholar who committed suicide in the bathroom, a sleeping form stirs from the waking nightmares that plagues his mind...

* * *

I open my eyes for the eighth time in the last half an hour and try to remember what the last flash of horror my dreams were tained with like usual before sighing in exasperation.

_Why can't I just have a normal night of sleep? Does someone hate me?_

I roll over and close my eyes, only throw them open as I see the last breath of a police officer I barely recognize. I forget it within seconds and sit up out of bed.

_I really hate the permanent erase function that all my dreams seem to have when I wake up, for someone with near-perfect memory it gets old after the third night._

Throwing my sheets off I stand and grab one of my omni-tools to check the time. Seeing it was 0200 I shrug, knowing how common it was for me to wake up before five in the morning.

Walking into the bathroom I grab the tooth-brush I bought and the tube of toothpaste I had to back-order to get in non-dextro.

_I really don't understand how even a hundred and forty years into the future we haven't found a way to brush without wasting ten minutes of our morning._

Ten minutes later like clockwork I spit and rinse before checking that my stubble wasn't too agitating and calling up my omni-tool, "LIA how's my day looking?" I ask while closing my eyes for a few seconds of rest.

She answers two seconds later, "You have scheduled working on your skycar, researching the Justicar's code, going out to a shooting range, and then you have a dinner reservation with Liara T'soni this afternoon at 1850."

_Ok, now I remember._

"Merci LIA." I deactivate my omni-tool and dig around under the coffee table for my armor before remembering the news report and opting to just wear civilian close today.

Throwing on some jeans and a gray t-shirt I grab my other omni-tool and unlock my door before taking a deep breath and lifting up the three crates that held the skycar parts I bought.

_Oh, these arn't that heavy, huh._

Shrugging as I lock my door and walk down the hall and into the abandoned lobby. I pause in the entryway for a second before remembering the time and walking out into the cool, dark, and damp morning. I take a deep breath of the slightly salty air and sigh as I'm reminded the benefits of waking up before sunrise.

I remember all the times I couldn't sleep and decided to go jogging to see if it made me tired, it never did but I learned a lot about my neighbors through some early-morning investigations.

I smile as I remember the time I 'broke' into the back yard of the neighborhood elder and found marijuana plants growing in her garden shed.

_Ahh, I can still hear how much she screamed in annoyance at being caught. It wasn't too funny to have the cops called because of the situation, but the look on her wrinkled face when I told the officer's about her pot farm was priceless!_

I chuckle happily and sigh before setting down the crates next to the parked cab that I hacked two days prior. I look it over and am relieved to find my stationary loop still in the software.

_It's good to know how easy it is to hack a dangerous piece of machinery in this day and age. They don't even have firewalls for god's sake!_

Calling up my omni-tool I open an Extranet window and search for the schematics of a skycar. Instantly I'm brought to a website for hackers and joy-riders where it has every known make and model of skycar and a blog connected to each outlining how to break into it.

_Oh, well you know what they say, the Extranet is the modern-day thief's textbook._

I tap on the 'Thessian ART's Shuttle' and instantly the schematic is downloaded and open in a 3D map over my forearm. I search the hologram for the main control panel and find it behind a security seal right behind the hydrogen cells.

I take one last look at the schematic before finding it on the real thing easily and cracking it open with a quick application of omni-gel like the manual says. The seal breaks and I lift off the metallic casing to see the control panel.

_Ok, so according to this I'll need to remove the identification and navigation cards._

I look between the panel and the hologram multiple times before unplugging the three rectangular computer chips and reading the next part of the instructions.

_So I need to re-program the cards to suit my needs?_

I look at the options the manual outlined and shrug before just setting it up as a personal skycar using the example codes on the hologram and plugging them back into the panel.

_Done. Now lets get started with the rest of this tech._

Pulling over one of the crates of tech I pull out a spiral-looking metal coil thing with three wires hanging off the side and start installing the upgraded motion dampener according to the hologram.

_Ok, so I have to pull out these wires..._

* * *

After six hours of work I manage to install a new more efficient eezo core without blowing myself up, some better seat pads, a very sensitive motion dampener so I don't get thrown around as much, and an air conditioner/heating module.

_Why these things don't come standard with one is beyond me._

Then I built in an omni-radio into the dashboard and added it's controls to the holographic display inside.

_I wasn't into cars that much back in my own universe, but this is more like building a computer then a car so I'm seriously loving the experience. And I don't need to clean grease off of everything I own when I tinker! It's awesome!_

Some of the more personal things I installed include a blood-red HAPTIC display on the interior and 'blind-view' windows that allow me to see out but others not to see in.

_I might be more then a bit paranoid, but it adds to the mystic and... I'm talking to myself, great._

Another thing I did was a bit more difficult. I re-paint the entire thing mid-night black. The 6000 credit paint was designed to harden on impact, allowing it to become a very strange mix of armor and paint.

_At least that's what the can says. Something I'll definitely need if I'm planning to get into more gunfights, yeah it's a must. I seriously need to stop spending so many credits though. I'm going to be broke within a week at this rate!_

The last thing I did was paint a silver-lined scorpion onto the driver-side door with some cheap metallic paint I found at a local hardware store off the Extranet. It has neon properties, so if a current passes through it then it glows white.

I wipe my sweaty brow and step back to admire my work.

_This thing is a masterpiece. I'm SO glad I took drawing in high-school because that scorpion is seriously perfect._

I frown as I look over everything again and I feel as if it was missing somethi- "Ah! Oh course!"

Calling up my omni-tool I kneel down next to the hydrogen cell panel and flash-forge a thin, serrated, and flaming omni-blade I bought off an STG website for 500 credits. Absolutely as careful as I can I burn a symbol I know all too well into the thin metallic paneling, the only true Prothean symbol I know of, the symbol for shadow.

_I know it's a bit sentimental of me, but it just ties the entire thing together._

Finishing up the burn I take a step back and collapse my omni-blade, satisfied that the artistic balance of the skycar was now back in order.

Sighing with an elation I only felt from a job well done I pack up my tools, OSD's and parts I was going to tinker with later. I feel a slight burning on my neck and look behind me to find the sun just starting to peek over the horizon. I stand there for a moment. Just admiring the beauty of the universe before remembering I was on the Asari Homeworld and closing my eyes to forcefully block out what was going to happen when the Reaper's invade in 15 years.

_I have to try and stop it, I owe it to these people to try._

Now mentally depressed, I take the crates full of the leftover parts and junk and walk back into my building to find the attendant yawning as she walked out of the elevator. I step as silently as I can and hug the darker parts of the room to avoid getting noticed.

_I'm not avoiding her, I just think it wise to avoid people who trigger psychotic episodes whenever possible a sound policy._

She rolls her neck and sits down at her desk with a cup of what I could only guess was coffee as I rush-walk into the hallway and up to my apartment. I fiddle with my omni-tool before the door finally opens and I jump inside before re-locking it.

I drop the crates off to the side and sigh in relief before walking into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Afterwards, I dress in clean clothes and cook another one of my omelets before transforming my bed back into a couch and sitting down to eat while watching the morning news.

"Welcome to the Thessia News Network, I'm Telia T'vani. The top story this morning, a well known Volus merchant is found incapacitated in an alleyway. When interviewed by an officer he is reported to be saying, 'What took you so long, I was stuck on my back for six hours you lazy Asari'"

I stop eating and visualize a Volus stuck on his back like a turtle, cursing and yelling out for help while his breather mask franticly hisses from him panicking. I bursting out laughing.

"HAHAHAHA! HAHAHA! OH MY GOD THAT IS HILARIOUS!"

I hold my stomach as I chuckle uncontrollably for five-six minutes before calming down and getting a glass of water. I finish the glass and smile as I sit back down and decide to-

I freeze up as my vision shifts...

* * *

...and I'm walking into a room. I look up from the datapad I'm holding and to my left to find a small desk with a small lamp and some papers on top of it.

_What?_

I look around the room and I see a child's bed and a large window where outside I see children at play, but something is wrong. I think about why I was standing there and I hear a whimper. My ears perk up and I listen in on the sound for a moment, I hear sniffling, someone's crying.

"Who's there?" I whisper cautiously. The crying shifts to sobs and I whip my head to the left as the desk shifts slightly. I walk around it slowly, trying to remember why it seemed so familiar.

_Why do I know this?_

I see a small foot before it's owner pulls it under the desk in fear. I kneel down to look under the desk...

And I see a girl, small, pale, her beautiful brown hair unkempt and loosing its color from the clear mal-nourishment she was suffering. Her deep brown eyes filled with pain and fear as I grab her weak and fragile arm and yank her out of her hiding space. I drag her against her and my own will towards the bed.

"NO! NONONO! Please!" She screams as two other men take her and tie restraints around her wrists and ankles before tying her to the bed.

"This is necessary," I hear myself whisper shakily as I take out a syringe and move towards the bed while tapping the air bubbles out of the liquid. "the Illusive Man wants us to succeed." I look the girl in the eye and I can see her pleading me to stop it, to stop it all, and I can feel myself start to hesitate, "The Illusive Man needs progress." I whisper as I tear my eyes away from hers and focus on the laughter of the children outside before grabbing her arm and quickly injecting the serum.

_No..._

I back up as the girl starts to scream out in her agony and suffering of the drug I know forces the nerves in Humans to over fire, causing beyond unbearable pain. I try and think of a way to help her and I can't, I just can't...

_The Illusive Man might not like it..._

* * *

My vision clears and I fall back against the couch as tears stream down my face and my lip trembles.

_No..._

I can feel my heart start to break at how much suffering I saw in the gi-

...

My eyes widen in absolute shock as I recognize the little girl.

_Jack..._

I can't breath. I clutch my chest in pure empathetic torture from realizing how bad she had it.

_Has it, she's suffering through all that right now._

I feel anger start to boil up at the mere fact that the bastards at the Teltan facility are doing it FOR the Illusive Man.

_THAT FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!_

I clench my fists and feel the new awesome power I just started learning how to control build in my fingertips, then I drop my hands and lower my head as the fact that I can't help her hits me. I look at my hands as regret blurs my vision with tears.

_Even with all this raw power at my fingertips I have no way to help her, to actually save anyone._

I close my eyes, trying to find someone, anyone I could save during my time here.

My mind keeps focusing around Irikah.

_Why? Is it even possible for me to save her? When does she even die?_

I average Kolyat's age in Mass Effect 2 at 19-20 and I figure that he'd have to be young enough to understand the pain without it overwhelming him.

_So he was 9-10 years old when she died? So 2175-76? Which is four/five years from now._

I perk up at the thought I could graduate from AAH before she died, allowing me time, if not much, to track her and Kolyat down and keep them safe from the Batarians.

_I could do that. I really could have a chance at doing that!_

Taking in a deep and calming breath I let it out slowly, giving me my strength back. I think through some other events and find most of them only being relevant in ME1.

_That's too bad, I could do with more goals to keep myself focused._

I swallow nervously before picking up my half-eaten omelet and walking to the kitchen, no-longer feeling up to eating.

_Just another consequence of having a good memory, you loose a lot of long-term moral arguments._

"Scorpio?" I blink and match the synthetic voice to LIA before looking at the time and realizing that it was almost 1000.

"Yes LIA?" I respond quietly, not willing to talk after such a depressing thought.

"There are two local shooting ranges within Armali." She states factually, cold and without emotion like usual.

_Wow, that depresses me even more for some reason._

"Merci LIA, choose the nearest one as my waypoint and start up the skycar, I'll be out in a minute."

"At once Scorpio."

I sigh tiredly and let the last of the morning's events slip my mind as I review how to disassemble and arm my weapons. Satisfied that I remembered the steps I grabbed my weapon cases and armor crate before shutting down the holo-projector, locking my apartment, and walking out through the lobby as discreetly as possible. Out of the corner of my eye I notice the attendant watching something on her omni-tool, but ignore it as I slip by while she's distracted.

_I can't avoid her forever, but for now I'm going to do just that._

I admire the view of the city from my position for a moment, the lights, the atmosphere, hundreds of skycars just flowing through the air without a care.

_It's going to get weirder and weirder living here as time goes on, I can feel lost at moment already, even with my great memory._

Smiling as I remembered how shocking it was to realize I was on the Asari Homeworld, I walk up to and deposit my luggage into the back of my skycar before taking the driver seat and linking my omni-tool into the systems, "LIA, run a system diagnostic."

I watch the lines of code run along the open screen on my omni-tool and hope that I installed everything correctly.

_Last thing I need is another transport hub incident like last time._

*beep* "Diagnostic complete, 'Personal Shuttle' is running at optimal capacity and is fully fueled." LIA reports like the simple VI she is.

_It is getting a little annoying to talk with her, it's like speaking to Siri back home, too impersonal._

Shrugging reluctantly, I select the preset coordinates and activate the autopilot. I hear the engine start up with a light humming before the momentum shifts and I'm pushed into my seat for a second as the skycar accelerates to top speed at the same moment the motion dampeners kick in. The resulting release of pressure on my body allows me to sigh happily that everything was going a lot smoother then I expected.

_I am SO glad I bought that dampener, definitely worth it._

While sitting back comfortably I think about what I needed to get done by 2176 and frown in concentration as I remember how unstable the situation on Thessia was becoming.

_I mean, I destroyed a massive chunk of income from the Blue-Suns within half an hour! It's going to allow a lot of changes to happen and fast. I doubt they can recover as easily due to the already competitive Eclipse sisters that roam around Asari space. So since the Blue-Suns are going to most likely be pushed out of the local underground markets, a vacuum of power will allow the Eclipse to take over the majority of the profits. I seriously hope that doesn't change anything major in the Timeline, I can't handle an entire organization without massive assistance._

I'm knocked out of my thoughts as the skycar shifts its direction and lands just outside a large building. I step out and grab my items before looking up as LIA parks my skycar for me to see something I wasn't expecting.

_Isn't the Armali Armax Arena on the Citadel?_

I stare at the large triple 'A' sign for a moment longer before I shrug and walk into the shooting range.

_I'll ask the owner about it when I meet them._

Looking around I step through a lobby of some sort and am immediately assaulted by hundreds of rounds being fired at uneven intervals. I cringe at the noise before my ears adapt naturally to the increased feedback and blocked it out.

_God, if I wasn't awake before I sure am now!_

Shaking my head clear I look down the line and watch as over two dozen people all test their aim at the range with all sorts of weapons. I watch one Asari in particular stand straight, facing away from the target before spinning around and firing three quick-shots into the holographic target. One in the gut, one in the heart, one in the head.

_Impressive._

I look at her and nod as she notices me, she scoffs before turning back to her target.

_Oh, well, that's a bit rude._

I slowly walk down the line and notice that everyone in the room was Asari.

_Oh great, I'm the only technically male person here, this is going to get awkward really fast._

"Welcome to AAA, the Armali Academic Arena! I am Feirna Yone, owner." I turn quickly to my left at hearing the strangely high-pitched duel-toned voice and find a Drell standing there, smiling brightly. I realize quickly as she looks me over that she was a FEMALE Drell and try not to stare at her in shock.

_This is something I've never seen before, I'd better commit this to permanent memory._

I smile at her and bow as well as I can without dropping my cases and crate. I notice she does as well and I scan her form as we stand up straight again. She's wearing a tight, leather, body suit with an open collar that accents her frame perfectly. Her smooth yet scaly skin was a glowing deep orange that shined in the artificial light as if it's oiled. My eyes shift to her head and I find it sectioned off with the creases in her scalp to look strangely curved outwards, but without the rough edges I notice from the males of the species. Her face is rounded and bright, her frills are less prominent and fold into her cheeks gracefully. Even the light lines that naturally form in her facial scales seem to reflect a softer image and draw your attention to her wide, inescapably deep and dark eyes.

_By my definition, she is beautiful._

I smile brightly and speak as loudly as needed over the resounding gunfire, "Greeting Feirna, my name is Scorpio, I'm here looking for someone to teach me how to properly fire my weapons and maybe give me some pointers in combat."

She nods, "Ah hello Scorpio, I've been known to train many people in the art of Enkre, or 'swift fire'. For what purpose do you require training?"

I feel my arms start to tire and shift my load around slightly to get a better grip before saying, "I'm working on honing my biotics and need something to compound with them in case I have need of stealth instead of power."

_I really do, after what happened with the Turian in the ally and the Blue-Suns incident I need to know all I can about firing a gun._

She frowns slightly before blinking both her eyelids and waving to me to follow as she turns to walk down the line. "I can teach you, though I will require compensation for my services." She quickly corrects the posture of one of the Asari with two taps to the arm. "I am curious as to where you are training to hone your biotics." She lightly kicks the back of one of the Asari's knees and as a result the Asari shifts to compensate and fires a perfect head-shot. She nods appreciatively to Feirna.

"I'm actually not sure if it's known to many yet but I'm enrolled into AAH." I say cautiously, suddenly nervous about why all the Asari were training here.

At the exact moment the words left my mouth every Asari down the line stopped firing and turned to stare at me in shock.

_Ok, that isn't creepy at all._

"Back it your fire training! A true Huntress is never distracted!" Feirna shouts to everyone down the line. Instantly they all turn back and start their firing once more. Fierna turns and walks further down the line and I follow, now even more nervous then before. "These Asari are here under-going their second year of firearms training at AAH, I privately contract through them since my shooting range is the closest and allows for single and multiple situational training that AAH doesn't actually cover at their facilities." She comments while lifting another Asari's rifle an inch higher.

_Huh, well that's a strange coincidence._

She stops and turns to look at me, "I had heard rumors about an Alien enrolling at the academy, I didn't know they chose a Human." I notice a question in her tone and look at her in expectation. She raises a sharp eyebrow, "I am wondering if what they say is true, that you are also a Natural Biotic and as such require the same training as Asari undergo." I think for a moment before nodding discreetly. She smiles and hurriedly walks down the rest of the line and up to a security gate.

_Ok, well now I know how rare it is._

I walk as fast as I can and get up to the gate just as she opens it with her omni-tool and walks inside. She turns and waves me forward. I walk in and jump as the gate slams shut behind me.

_Holy shit._

A barrier activates and suddenly all the noise from the gunfire is cut off and I sigh in relief as my ears stop ringing. I look up and my eyes widen in shock.

_Holy shit._

I look around the massive room filled with racks and racks of weapons and I recognize barely ten percent of the models.

_My god..._

I step forward and follow Feirna in my own revere at the beyond massive collection of weapons. I even see a Geth pulse rifle inside a barrier casing in one of the outer-walls.

"There is also my work designing weapons for the Council Spectre Requisitions officer." She comments as she brushes a hand over a massively modified sniper rifle that's mounted on one of the lower racks.

I look around the room in absolute awe for another second before I almost bump into Feirna as she stops just before a weapons modding table where I notice a Turian was working on a black assault rifle that I recognize as an HMWA II by the look of the discolored grips on the stock.

...

_I just realized I have no idea how I know that._

"So, what do you think about my collection." Feirna asks proudly.

I watch her for a moment before letting my intense grin through, "It's absolutely amazing! I've never seen so many high-end weapons in one place before!"

She laughs with her duel toned light voice and shakes her head at my enthusiasm.

"It seems as if even the Human's can't resist the allure of the HM series." We stop for a moment and I look past her as she turns and I watch as the Turian lifts his rifle up to the light.

_That voice..._

I scan him and notice he was wearing a familiar set of armor, something I've seen before. The light reflects across his brown skin and is lost as it passes by a red band of light wrapping around the collar of the epic-looking armor.

"Don't discredit what four-hundred of the highest grade Spectre weapons on the market can do to a person. Even an anti-gun lobbyist would gawk in shock in here!" Feirna chuckled in her own two-toned, soft voice.

_Spectre..._

"I wouldn't doubt it Feirna, well aren't you going to introduce us?" He turned and walked into the light. White pant over dark brown skin and a slight smirk across his face. I blink for a moment and heavily resist my jaw drop.

_Nihlus!_

"Of course Spectre, this is Scorpio, a new recruit in my class and if the Armali gossip is anything to go by the first alien to be accepted into the Armali Academy of the Huntress!" Feirna states excitedly.

_Its Nihlus! Holy Goddess!_

"Ahh, a pleasure, although I was under the impression that only naturally trained biotics were able to enroll." Nihlus says curiously. I'm stuck in absolute shock so I simply nodded. I stare at him for a few more seconds.

_Say something you moron!_

Blinking rapidly I finally found my voice, "They do, I'm the only human in existence to have naturally strong abilities in biotics. I don't need an amp so they agreed to train me."

_This is unprecedentedly awesome!_

"How is that possible? I was under the impression that only Asari could become natural biotics without extreme genetic modification." Nihlus asks conversationally.

I sigh in slight exasperation.

_I was hoping to avoid this conversation._

"That's true, but I'm a special case it seems. I only learned about my biotics recently. Apparently my nodes were dormant for most of my life, and only when I was forced into extreme danger were they able to activate."I say as calmly as I can manage.

_It is hard lying to him, a Spectre, about my past. He's just so awesome. If I don't lie I'll be sent to an insane asylum. What did Jeilus say? I remember something about how my nodes numbering in the millions? Maybe I imagined that._

That's when I remembered, I had been called by the hospital two days ago at two in the morning and was advised via LIA that my test results came back, that I didn't authorize, and they figured out that I was essentially riddled with nodes to the point that my spinal cord was nearly non-existent beyond the vertebrae and a few unaltered strings of neural fibers. I was naturally shocked and absolutely freaked out by what that meant. Jeilus had told LIA that I was not only the most powerful biotic outside of the T'soni's estate, but that I was worth over five million credits in eezo.

_That was absolutely shocking as all hell. Maybe I can pawn my nodes if I ever go broke._

Thinking about the surgery involved in such a procedure I dismissed the idea immediately.

_I never asked to become a biotic, but it seems that whatever brought me here wanted me to be the strongest, so I won't deny it. I'll embrace it and use it to better the galaxy. God did that sound pathetically stereotypical!_

"I have some knowledge in Asari biotics, how many do your nodes number in?" Nihlus's skeptical voice cut me out of my thoughts.

I blink and refocus my thoughts, "The tests came back a few days ago, apparently my nodes number in over a million. It shocked everyone who was doing the tests. They even re-did the results to avoid errors. It wasn't an error."

Both of his eye-plates raise and his mandibles twitched wide in I would assume shock. "Your serious? Your nodes number in over a million?!" He asks in evident shock.

_Unfortunately yes._

I nod and he does a strange Turian version of a whistle. "You do realize that any normal Human Biotic only numbers in the hundred thousand range? And that most Asari only number in the 500-800 thousand range?" He asks in moderate exasperation. I nod, even though this was news to me.

_I didn't think biotics had THAT many nodes in their nervous systems._

He crosses his arms over his armored chest and shakes his head, "Kid, you're officially going to need therapy, because that's just insane! A million nodes?! If you actually end up honing those biotics to a fine point your going to be so powerful that the Matriarchs are going to try and kill you out of petty jealousy!" He and Feirna burst out laughing and I had to fake a laugh of my own like usual.

"Yeah..." I say quietly while trying to wrap my head around it.

_I'm the most powerful biotic in human existence? I mean I assumed that but... oh I hope I can learn how to control this 'gift' before it turns into a death sentence._

Thinking about how some young Asari accidentally kill themselves trying to hone their biotics too quickly I shudder at the thought of what a biotic detonation would do to me if it happened.

_With the amount of eezo I have it'll probably destroy three city blocks along with me._

The laughter died down as Feirna seems to remember to introduce Nihlus. "Oh! Scorpio, this is Spectre Agent Nihlus, he's working for the Citadel counsel at the moment in overseeing activities on Thessia. After that Matriarch's daughter was attacked in an alley and that Turian General was murdered he's been investigating the incident." My heart dropped.

_Investigating... oh crap. He can't know! No he doesn't even know about ME how can he know? What's going to happen when he finds out and I don't tell him though? God damn it!_

I bow in greeting and watch him for a second.

_Well, he is quite honorable from what I know about him, maybe I can get him to understand my situation?_

Thinking about how he agrees that humans would be excellent in the Spectres I decide to tell him and try to get him to understand.

_Better get this over with._

My logical side was screaming at me not to tell him and my emotional side was scared to death so I went with my gut feeling, and my gut feeling said I should trust him. "It's a pleasure Nihlus, oh and would you mind meeting me at my apartment tomorrow morning? I have some information you might want to look at involving that incident."

His features focus as his gaze turns to study me intently. Reading his alien expressions I see confusion cross his face. "What do you mean by, _information_?" He asks suspiciously.

I frown slightly and bring my voice into a serious tone before remembering something and speaking, "The truth, is not what is publicized, but what lurks in the shadows, in the dark corners of people's hearts. The truth, is always known to the wicked and never seen by the innocent. The truth Nihlus, is something beyond unknown to both this world and the galaxy at large." His frown lifts and he blinks at me as I finish, "That's all I can say. I do hope you will come. Here's the address." I send the address to his omni-tool.

He looks at me strangely before locking his rifle onto his back and nodding to Feirna as he walks towards the exit.

_If my memory serves me well, Nihlus was a guy who took precaution and poetic-isms to heart. I seriously hope he doesn't kill me when I tell him._

Feirna taps me on the shoulder, "What was all that about?" I tear my eyes from Nihlus and look at the confused expression on Feirna's face.

I shake my head, "Nothing, let's get back to work, you were going to train me?"

Forgetting the conversation for the moment Feirna smiles widely, "Oh of course, let's get started." She waves me over to the modding table. "Now since you're going to be enrolled at AAH, you don't have to pay for my services."

_Phew, I was starting to worry, I don't need another 50000 credits hanging over my head._

"Now, do you have any weapons specializations you wish to train with? Or do you want an all-out session." She asks as she eyes my cases.

I nod, "I have a Reaper IV sniper rifle and an Edge III pistol I'd like to train with, but I also want to try out the other weapons as well."

She gestures for me to hand her the cases and I do. She opens them and smiles at the red and white weapons before turning towards me, "These are well made, and good starter weapons. Do you have any preference of fighting style?"

I think about it for a moment before saying, "I'm able to fight through a firefight if needed, although I would rather fight from stealth." She stops and turns towards me, a strange look in her eye.

I tilt my head and raise an eyebrow while I watch her, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

She blinks and smiles before saying, "You remind me of my cousin, willing to fight a horde but brings the most damage from the shadows." She sighs before handing me the cases. "Do you own any armor? This will require it indefinitely." She asks seriously.

I incline my head to the crate I'm carrying, "It's in the box."

She frowns, "Good, get it on and meet me at the range in five minutes. Lets see how well you can do." She turns and walks away, leaving me slightly worried for my safety.

_This is going to be interesting._

Dropping my load with a sigh of relief from finally getting the feeling back into my arms, i crack the seal and trow on my armor before activating my weapons and clamping them onto the magnetic strips along the back and sides of my armor.

_I really hope I can learn this quickly, I have a strange feeling things are going to get dangerous, fast._

Walking back out to the main room I notice half of the Asari were standing around at the far side of the range, right behind Feirna.

_Oh, great, a crowd. Like I'm not nervous as it is._

I take a deep breath as I approach, Feirna stares at me for a moment before shaking her head and pointing at station two. I walk into the booth nervously and take a breath before thinking about all the times I've embarrassed myself in public...

...

_Wow I really haven't before. This is going to be bad, I know it._

"Scorpio, arm yourself with your sniper rifle." Feirna commands. I reach over my left shoulder and grip the handle of my sniper rifle before pulling it out of its lock and gripping it in me hands.

I look down at it and flip the safety off before quickly checking the sights and adjusting it like I used to with my father's rifle whenever he was on leave.

I hear Feirna tapping on her omni-tool and a target pops up down range with a five second timer to the right of me.

_Oh shit!_

Taking the sights up to my eye I steady my stance and aim just left of the heart. *BLAM* I don't watch it hit as I shift two degrees higher and fire just slightly higher and to the right of the forehead a second later. *BLAM* I hear the last second hit and quickly fire towards the holo-graphic weapon aiming at me. *BLAM* *BEEP!* I don't check the target as I close my eyes and finally breath again.

_I hope I did well, god my heart is beating out of my chest!_

I hear the target roll forwards and stop before I open my eyes to gawk at the perfect head-shot, heart-shot, and shattered rifle in the hologram's hand.

...

I close my mouth and turn around to find everyone gawking at me like I did a quadruple back-flip and landed as a Volus. A few of them breath 'Goddess' as the rest blink in shock.

Feirna shakes her head, "Do it again and lets see if it's just luck." I nod silently and turn around, completely wondering if it was a fluke.

_I've never shot a gun in my life! I know my armor takes a lot of the impact of the kick-back but I shouldn't be able to shoot this well!_

The target re-sets at the far end as I turn and by the time I fire the first time the timer is at 3 seconds. *BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM* *BEEP!* It rolls up to me and I'm again shocked with everyone that it's three perfect shots, this time the last one was through the elbow of the hologram's aiming arm, PAST the gun.

_Damn!_

I smile and turn around to find Feirna frowning dangerously and half of the Asari exchanging credits.

_So apparently people are betting against me? Huh, I would to._

"Do it again, but this time lets have it moving." Feirna states in a violent tone.

_I have no idea why this is happening, but I need to figure it out._

Turning around, I grip the rifle in my hands and roll my firing shoulder.

_For some reason I just feel really good when holding this sniper rifle._

I look down at it and smile before sighting it again to make sure it's perfect and getting into position. The target pops into play and I throw my rifle up and immediately notice the sporadic movement of the target. I grip the rifle tightly and clench my teeth as I lead it and fire off three shots before the rifle overheats. *BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM* *BEEP!*

_I missed, I already know it._

The target flies forward and stops.

...

_WHAT THE HELL!_

"OK, you can stop hitting the target at any time!" Feirna shouts from behind me.

"I have no idea how the hell I'm doing this!" I shout as I turn away from my third perfect round of shots.

Everyone in the crowd shakes their heads and Feirna pinches the bridge of her nose, "Ok, so you're a natural biotic AND a naturally perfect shot with a sniper rifle." She sighs and looks at me with a frustrated smirk, "Now lets see how you do with a pistol at this range." My eyes grow wide.

_Oh crap, well I DID coin the saying, 'Snipe with a pistol, shoot with a sniper rifle.' After playing COD for a hundred hours so I guess I'm going to have to learn how to live up to that at some point, I just never expected to do in in real life._

I take a deep breath and swap to my pistol, I fumble with the light-weight firearm and finally find the safety switch before nervously aiming it down-range and groaning at how poor the sighting on the pistol is.

_This is never going to work._

The target pops up and I turn and fire the pistol with my left hand while the other clenches into a fist at my side, I fire eight shots before the timer runs out.

_I lost, I didn't hit anything._

The target zooms up to the front, four shots hit the target, one in the shoulder, one in the chest, one in the leg, the last hit right in the middle of the throat.

_Huh, not bad._

"This is getting to be a bit too much Scorpio, what's going on?" Feirna asks suspiciously.

I turn to respond before I stop and look at the corner of my sight and see a small meter showing the weapon I'm holding and how heated it is.

_OH! My god I'm an idiot! I left the Target Assist function of my suit on!_

I face-palm and call up my omni-tool before deactivating the function and saying, "Ok, NOW lets try this again, regular unmoving target with the sniper rifle."

Feirna looks at me strangely but re-sets it.

_Now lets see how good I really am._

I watch the target pop up, *BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM* *BEEP!* The target rolls up and I tilt my head to the side, a bit confused. I hit all my targets true, if a bit off, but there were a total of four shots in the target.

_What the hell?_

Feirna walks up and stares at the shots for a moment before saying, "Either you have some kind of gift or this rifle and you just match perfectly because this is amazingly rare." She turns to me, "Your rifle discharged some heat into one of the shots, curving it off coarse while firing a second automatically," She points at the one that shattered the ankle of the hologram. "but allowing you to fire four shots instead of three. I have a few rifles that have been known to do this but only every eight hundred shots or so. What did you do with your omni-tool right before this round?"

I look at her while resting the rifle comfortably in my hands, "I deactivated the aim-assist on my suit, it was on during the first four rounds and I didn't notice until after the pistol one." I shrug and roll my shoulders loosely.

Feirna scowls at me before smiling, "I knew you had some sort of advantage, but even without it you did pretty well!" She points at the holo. "One to the chest, one through the left eye, one in the shoulder and lastly the curved shot to the ankle which was pure luck. You'd have surprised me if you even hit the target, but you blew my predictions WAY out the window."

I shrink into myself and blush from behind the mask.

_I really didn't think I would do too well, apparently I like proving myself wrong._

Feirna slaps me on the shoulder and yells at everyone to get back to their practice before having me try the same again, but with the pistol. I don't even hit the target after ten shots. "Well, that's what happens. Technology can make a pro out of a rookie in absolutely no time." Feirna says before adjusting my pose to be aiming with two hands in a slightly hunched over pose and re-setting the target.

*BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM* I look up as the target comes closer and nod in satisfaction at the three holes in the holo's chest region.

I turn around and Feirna has an 'I told you so' look in her eyes. "Good, keep practicing with the pistol and you'll be sniping with it in no-time." I stifle a laugh and smile from behind my mask just as she shoves an assault rifle in my hands and tells me to fire it.

I stare at the AR like it was an alien device before tapping the safety off and aiming it down range. The target pops up and I pull the trigger and wince as the but machine guns into my shoulder, throwing my aim off so bad Feirna hits the deck.

_Oh... I am not an AR person._

I cringe at the furious look on Feirna's face, "Sorry, I haven't handled an assault rifle before."

She huffs before ripping it out of my hands and shoving a shotgun into my hands which I nearly drop right away from the weight different. "I know, I could tell when you nearly sprayed bullets all over my nice clean ceiling! Try the Shotgun and this time try to hit the target, please?" She says in a dangerous tone. I just nod and turn back to the range.

The target zooms up to a closer distance and I am about to fire when I stop.

_I know how to do this._

I lower the shotgun and turn off the timer before delving into my memories to find what I meant. After a few seconds I remember something about keeping your arms solid enough to avoid breaking your nose, aim the butt of the gun away from your abdomen, and the last tip I can remember is something about aiming slightly higher then the mid-section for maximum... shredding... I shiver at the thought, but I take my own advice to heart and aim high and keep the kick-back in control.

I look directly down the sights for a second before aiming and-

*BANG!*

"OH! Fuck!" *cough* *cough*

I drop the gun and jump as it almost hits my foot before clenching my ribs where the butt of the shotgun hit.

_God damn those things have a heavy kick-back!_

"Ok, now that you know the kick-back on the thing, fire it again." Feirna says as if I didn't even get hurt.

I stare at her for a moment before sighing and grabbing the shotgun. I aim it at a more controllable angle and fire as the target pops up.

*BLAM*

I wince as the kick-back nearly dis-locates my shoulder and look up to see I completely missed. I look back at Feirna and she shakes her head, "You said you only liked the pistols and sniper rifles and you were right. Most beginners at least hit the target, even when they screw up." She sighs as I watch her for the next set of instructions.

She looks at the range, then takes the shotgun from me and tells me to keep practicing with the pistol until I can make a perfect head-shot at 10 meters. I nod, excepting her challenge as she walks off to coach an Asari girl struggling with an assault rifle.

_I definitely need A LOT more practice and coaching if I want to improve on the pistol. I'm not sure how, but when I hold the SR it just feels right. I know I always favored them in FPS's and other shooter games, but I didn't think anything about actually shooting a sniper rifle in real life until after I 'fell' into the Mass Effect Universe._

Turning back to the range, I alter the distance to 10 meters and start firing. *BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM*

* * *

1700hrs

"I told you to put the safety ON when you lock your weapons into place." Feirna scolds me for the seventh time as I lay against a stack of crates with my left foot laying above my heart to slow the bleeding.

I wince in pain as she disinfects the grazing I took from my pistol going off from my hip. "I know, and you're talking to a person with a near-perfect memory and a pension to not learning from other people's experiences."

She shakes her head and applies a thin layer of medi-gel to the inside of my foot, forcing me to hold my breath until the stinging subsided. I sigh out a breath of relief as nearly all feeling in that part of my foot is taken away from the numbing agent included in every formula of medi-gel.

She grabs some cloth and I stop her, "If I'm going to learn from my mistake I'm going to need to do this on my own." I say truthfully. She smirks and hands me the cloth, I pocket it and slip my foot into my civilian set of boots before buckling it up and looking back to Feirna as she shakes her head in exasperation. I roll my eyes from and test out the foot to realize it felt nearly fine, a little numb, but almost completely normal.

_Huh, wonders of modern medicine._

I place my weapons into their cases and throw my armor into pieces into the crate, "Thanks for the lesson Feirna, same time next week?"

She looks at me as I hold my cargo in front of her as if I was drunk, "No absolutely not! I am not dealing with you purposely injuring yourself for attention every week! My heart couldn't take it."

I laugh at her sarcasm, "Yeah, I'd rather avoid this happening again as well. See you next week Feirna." We bow respectfully towards each other.

_She's a good person, a bit intense, but good-hearted, and a wicked shot. She head-shotted a holo at 50 meters!_

Walking past her and through the lobby, I exit the building to notice the sky was starting to darken.

_I've got to get back to my place and quickly shower before picking up Liara._

I call up my omni-tool and am about to tell LIA to get my skycar when it parks right in front of me.

_Oh, well, thanks LIA._

I jump in and quickly punch the coordinates for my apartment and sitting back in a slight panic as I see it's almost 1730.

_Come on, come on, speed up! Huh, this is the first time I actually WANT this damn thing to go faster._

* * *

Flowers, bright, colorful, full of life. A sea of reds, blues, yellows, and nearly every combination of the three. Song birds sing their evening songs from the trees, the air mirroring their sweet yet empty sounds. They knew that this was to be the last sunny day before the cool evenings set in, before the flowers stopped blooming, before the trees are stripped bare like they always are at the end of the year.

A figure, small and quiet, greets them all for one last time. Thousands of fluttering wings beat against the trees as the figure moves into the garden and chooses one small blue flower from the millions around her to be her company for the evening, her blue fingers lightly grasping along the green stem as the her other hand procured a small ceremonial pair of scissors and snipped the base of the stem. The delicate blue flower is lifted above it's paired brothers and sisters of the garden and deposited inside a glass case, its destiny was to outlive its brethren, to live forever as part of her yearly ritual on her birthday to save a bit of life to remind her that all life was worth saving.

She smiles and sits on the edge of a rock that was placed on a small cliff that allowed her to overlook the sea. Her fingers trace the spot of the rock where she carved her initials with her mother when she was twelve. They had just moved from her mother's apartment that sat beside a park and the first thing they did was plant hundreds of the rarest Thessian flowers on a hill and build the now flourishing garden in which she sat today.

Liara breathed in the salty sea air and smiled at how it tickled her nose. She wrote her dissertation while listening to the birds care to their young in the spring. She has had so many beautiful memories in this place that even she could not even begin to record and catalog all of them.

Liara closes her eyes and sighs with equal happiness and sadness, if she was approved for the Detriop dig expedition then she might not be able to spend entire years in this place, but it is small in comparison to visiting a real Prothean ruin and possibly finding the proof she needs to finally be recognized in the academic community.

"Liara? It is late and I did not see you enter the gardens." Liara turned slightly to find her long-time friend and mentor, Shiala, standing beside her.

Liara avoids Shiala's eye and instead looks out to the sea in hopes Shiala would not pick up on her discomfort.

"We have a long tradition, on entering the garden and plucking the one flower together, the simple fact that you have done this without me shows how discomforted you are by my presence." Shiala wisely deduces.

Liara looks down sadly, she did not mean to break their long-standing eighty year old tradition. Out of personal guilt of letting down her only friend she has ever had, she looks up and lets her personal dilemma become open to the knowing eyes of Shiala.

_I am a fool if I thought it right, or even possible, to exclude this evenings events from her watchful eye. I wish I had not been wrapped up in the guilt of not asking her to dinner instead of Scorpio, and had seen the error in my ways._

Shiala's eyes widen and she watches Liara in shock, she had not anticipated such an event. "Liara? You, you have a date to dinner?"

Liara's eyes widen and she quickly jumps up to her feet to deny it, "No! No I do not! I am simply having my birthday dinner with Scorpio!" Liara quickly covers her mouth, she spoke to much.

_Damn my nervous ramblings!_

Shiala blinks in even more shock then before, she didn't anticipate any of this, least of all a socially awkward Human whom Liara hadn't even known for more than a week taking her place in comforting Liara during the annual birthday dinner to which Benesia couldn't attend due to some reason or another. "I see..." She says impulsively, not sure how to even respond to the situation.

Liara cringes at the sound and worriedly searches Shiala's eyes for something, anything that indicated their friendship was still intact. She sees confusion, and not much else.

_Have I messed up that much? That now my best friend was at a loss for words at how horrid my actions had been?_

"I...'' Shiala was speechless, she did not think Liara would find the time to begin her wild maiden years before she was already into her second century. How Liara was able to finally break through her own personal nervousness and agree to dine with someone she does not entirely know is beyond her capability of understanding.

Liara feels tears come to her eyes, she has ruined her friendship for one adventurous night with an extremely intriguing Human whom was a total stranger to her.

Shiala, finally able to come to peace with her inner turmoil, notices Liara's silent weeping and quickly wraps her arms around her in an effort to comfort her, "Shh, Shh, everything is alright Liara, I am not mad, it is just surprising that you are going to dine with a stranger." She lightly speaks to Liara as she holds her.

"I have betrayed our friendship for a stranger, i am a fool!" Liara declares to the world as she sobs into Shiala's silk dress.

Shiala rubs Liara's back and pulls away enough to plant a light kiss upon her forehead, "You have not, you are simply growing up and I must accept that."

Liara blinks the last of her tears away, now seeing how she miss-took Shiala's confused silence for anger and resentment. "I love you Shiala."

Shiala smiles at the young child she once dragged out of her room and forced to plant a tree daily just so she would not end up as pale as the snow, "And I you, young one." They hug each-other tightly, now knowing why old friendships never die.

Liara departs the gardens, content with her situation as she quickly rushes through the Mansion and into her room to change into the dress she saved for the evening.

_Oh, I only have twenty minutes!_

She quickly undresses and starts tying the blue and green silk bands around herself, slowly forming a tight, breathable, fabric that barely covered her person. Next she wraps herself in two thin sheets of light purple, allowing the vibrant blue and green silk to blend with her light-blue skin and allow it to shine through under the correct lighting, she keeps it together using a braided belt of polyester and cotton strips of azure blue fabric that ties around her thin waist and thins out as it snakes through the fabric and up past her chest before V-ing out to create a tasteful amount of cleavage. Lastly she puts on Thessian-blue 92 lipstick that had a hint of eezo in it so it glowed ever so slightly, then she unseals the preservation case that held the one tiny blue flower she picked and strings it into the collar of her dress, making the entire outfit that Shiala says makes Liara as sexy as the Goddess herself work.

She bought this twenty years ago for me, and at the time I refused to wear it since I found no use for it, not however it is perfect for the situation.

Checking the time she gasps that it had been thirty minutes and quickly grabs her one pair of dress shoes she has and carefully running through the halls of the mansion, extremely aware that if she tripped, her dress would most-likely unfurl and she's by laying naked in a pile of ribbons and see-through fabric.

She makes it to the gate to find all the huntresses surrounding someone that had landed recently. Liara quickly puts on her shoes and rushes over as she notices it was Scorpio.

"...was invited here by Liara! I'm supposed to take her to her birthday dinner!" She hears Scorpio shout as she pushes her way through the wall of huntresses and finally into the middle of the circle.

"Scorpio!" She shouts.

The captain turns and immediately moves to call off her forces as she recognizes Liara. "Fall off! I am sorry Ms. T'soni, I was under the impression that you had decided to not go to dinner."

Liara frowns at the captain, she knew she was late but not THAT late, "I was running late captain, you are dismissed." She focuses on Scorpio and smiles as she makes eye contact and sees unkempt desire brimming in his deep brown eyes.

_So the dress DOES make me as beautiful as the Goddess herself._

She folds her hands in front of her to avoid fidgeting and takes in a shaky breath as she notices the formal attire Scorpio was wearing. He was wearing black pants with what looks like a black button-less suit and a white shirt underneath. She notices a gleam off the white cuffs at his wrists and notice silver scorpions were his cuff-links.

"You look absolutely beyond the beauty of the Goddess herself Liara." Scorpio says breathlessly.

She blushes and looks away for a moment before looking him in the eye and saying, "You look quite handsome yourself Scorpio." Something catches her eye and she looks past him to find a black skycar with a glowing silver scorpion on the driver-side door and to her surprise the Prothean symbol for shadow etched into the back. "Is that your skycar?" She asks almost in awe of such a change since last time she saw him he was taking a shuttle.

He turns around and walks up to the side of the skycar and leans against it with a smirk on his face, "Yep, built it myself, you like?"

She nods and approaches the Prothean symbol before tracing it and looking at Scorpio, "Yes, its is aesthetically pleasing to look at and I understand why you chose the symbol for shadow as well, a perfect match for the skycar."

_His surprising knowledge of the Protheans is quite interesting._

"Well, our reservations are for 1830 and it's already 1810 so we'll have to hurry if we're going to make them." Scorpio comments while opening up the skycar using a deep red omni-tool.

Liara doesn't acknowledge it and just steps into the passenger seat before sitting back to try and calm her fraying nerves.

_Why am I so nervous?_

The skycar lifts off the ground and she gets ready to grip onto the seat for dear life as it accelerates to top speed. She opens her eyes and notices that even though they were moving extremely quickly there wasn't an overwhelming pressure that forced her into her seat. She looks at Scorpio and notices him smirking while concentrating on something on his omni-tool.

_This is already turning out to be tremendously different than years prior._

"Liara? You alright?" Scorpio asks as she notices she was staring off into distance for quite some time.

Liara blinks and nods, her introvert nature automatically taking over as she steps into unfamiliar territory. She hears Scorpio sigh and she looks out the windshield to find the sun setting in it's naturally fantastic fashion. She's reminded of the first day she met Scorpio, how she went out of her way to help a stranger and ended up being flattered into accepting a date.

_No! This is not a date! I am just going out with a new friend on my birthday to a luxurious restaurant._

She sighed worriedly as she realizes she WAS going out on a date. She starts nervously fidgeting with her dress and has to stop herself from re-doing one of the knots that held the entire dress together.

_Stop it! You are being rude!_

She lowers her head in personal shame for a moment before looking up and saying, "I am new to these types of things, I apologize in advance if I do something foolish tonight." She watches Scorpio for a reaction.

He shrugs, "Yeah that's about right, I've actually never been on a 'true' date before either." He looks over at her and smiles as she feels her eyes widen.

Unfortunately her curiosity becomes overwhelming and she asks, "What constitutes a date to not be a 'true' date?" She watches Scorpio expectedly.

He looks at her and sighs before speaking, "Being the only person actually talking isn't a date, not knowing the other person is even there is not a date, and usually not seeing the other person throughout the entire evening is also not a date. I've had five cancellations for dinner dates, three people stalk me and decide to drop by only when I'm just falling asleep to tell me that they want to have my children, eight threatening messages about not calling people I don't even know, and last but not least at all I was held at gunpoint for half an hour because the latest stalker didn't like the way I ignored her repeated insistent that I was their future husband." Liara stares at him like her just told her he was dying in ten seconds. "Oh, and all this happened within the last five years, and I only began to actually start dating last month. So that's my track record." He watches her for a reaction and she simply turns and stays silent for a moment.

_Goddess... and I thought Shiala's psychotic ex-girlfriend was bad!_

"You were really held at gunpoint because someone miss-took you as their future husband?" She asks incredulously.

He nods, "Yep, she was a smart, perky, young lady with a pension for hysterical laughter. She actually shot at me twice as I ran for my life and missed. She's spending eight years in the county jail for attempted murder as well as a bunch of other things."

Liara blinks, trying to understand how so much could even happen within five years, "That is unfortunate, you have already had so much bad luck regarding romantic intentions, I am surprised you still wish to look for a life companion."

Scorpio laughs, "I know, its like there's nothing stopping me from finding that perfect woman to marry and spend the rest of my life with. I think about my past transgressions as just, bad luck on my part. For some reason I attract the crazy people." he smirks at her and Liara nods in agreement.

_I barely know him and already we are talking about relationships, this is intriguing._

The skycar lurches and slows as it descends onto a landing pad built into the side of a skyscraper. Sherilun, one of the most prestigious Asarian-based restaurants in all of Thessia. Matriarchs met diplomats to discuss trade deals here, celebrities were waited on by their colleagues in the service industry, and apparently a hot-spot for those with enough connections and influence to get reservations twenty years in advance.

Liara and Scorpio walk past the horde of people waiting for a chance at getting inside, or just to see one of the extremely important people that dined inside. Liara nods to the concierge, an Asari who has worked for Sherilun for over six decades and recognizes Liara instantly. "Welcome Ms. T'soni, is this your guest for the evening?" She eyes Scorpio suspiciously.

Liara smiles as politely as she can and nods, "Yes Jernis, he is to replace Shiala this evening."

Jernis scoffs and eyes Scorpio dangerously. Liara looks in shock at Scorpio to find him glaring so dangerously that Jernis' eyes widen in fear the moment their eyes meet and she backs off to let them through.

"R-right this way sir." Jernis stutters out as she grabs two digital menus and quickly lead them through the rooms and into a private outlook that Liara preferred to all other places in the restaurant.

Liara smiles apologetically to Jernis as she quickly departs and they sit down across from one another.

_He is quite intense when he needs to be, It should not surprise me after all he has been through._

"That concierge was really, disapproving of you Scorpio." Liara comments, her curiosity once again over-powering her lack of sociability.

Scorpio nods before looking off to the side, and at the dark skyline, "I'm not welcome in a lot of places, especially since Humans aren't held in high regard anywhere but in Alliance space."

Liara sadly understands, recent actions Humanity has taken to colonizing the Skyllian Verge has stained their reputation, especially after the Batarians left as a result of refusals from the Council to sign off the colonization rights to the minority population Batarians.

"Yes, it is unfortunate." Liara says, she has no opinion about the situation personally, Humanity was a new species learning to cooperate with others, and the Batarians were acting irresponsibly, but neither side were in the wrong.

Scorpio sighs before looking at the menu. Liara already knew what she wanted to eat, it was her favorite dish and only Sherilun seemed able to have it readily available.

"How's your work on the Protheans going? Any breakthroughs?" Scorpio asks, seemingly deciding what he wanted to eat.

Liara looks up for a moment to contemplate the idea, she did have some new theories about the Prothean extinction, but she was uncomfortable discussing them without finding more evidence to support her ideas. "No, not at the moment."

Scorpio nods and looks slightly more uncomfortable as he starts twiddling his thumbs. Liara watches them, interested in how pale Scorpio was, almost as much as she was.

"I do not get out much, though there's a garden at the estate that I like to visit regularly. I am regularly caught up in my studies." Liara says out of impulse.

Scorpio looks at her strangely before smiling, "I don't have too much to do outside either, mostly I'm working on something indoors or just trying to relax before another thing comes up."

Liara nods, a bit uncomfortable talking about what they do to relax. She tries to, but then she just ends up working on something else because she gets restless. Something crosses her mind about Scorpio and she looks at him curiously, "How did you come to know so much about the Protheans?"

Scorpio watches her for a moment, seemingly trying to decide if it was worth explaining, before shrugging and leaning forward, "I found a bit about them online a few years back when another breakthrough came out of the Mars archives, ever since then I've been searching for anything and everything about them. It's extremely interesting, I know a few words and maybe two or three symbols of their language by heart, as you probably saw on the tail of my skycar." Scorpio smiles fondly.

Liara perks up at the possible conversation that they shared interest in, "The entire idea that they were the only civilization around at the time is interesting, even more though that they expanded so effortlessly." She says excitedly, hoping to expand on the topic.

Scorpio nods and folds his hands in front of him before saying, "Elis Terul Dres Merik Svelin, I know a lot about their basic culture and history through their language."

Liara's eyes brighten up and she smiles widely, this was going to be a nice dinner after all, "Koril Melin Selo, Alrian Relik Elosolefik." (This day/night will rise with existence) She speaks what she knows about the language itself, barely a few conjugations and some verb she can barely pronounce.

Scorpio's eyes light up, "Ah, so you do know more then you let on, how interesting. Halon Liara, Mik Ethon Scorpio." (Greetings equal Liara, the empire shows favor to my life Scorpio)

Liara looks at Scorpio apologetically, she reached beyond her limit already, "i only know a little, not much. My apologies, I did not pay close attention to the language itself."

To Liara's surprise Scorpio leans forward and says, "How about I teach you some?" Her eyes widen and he immediately nods enthusiastically.

_I haven't felt this excited since I heard about the Detriop expedition._

"Alright, first thing you should know is that each word can differ in meaning by the slightest shift in pronunciation. For instance, Dirk means world, while Dierk means star. Also, the words I know are severely over-simplified as well. Most likely they will not translate into common languages all that well." Scorpio explains clearly.

Liara smiles, ready to have a great evening as their dishes arrived. A native Thessian fish covered with Salarian spices and broiled inside acidic leaves found on the Krogan Homeworld, now only able to be grown in greenhouses due to the near-extinction of it's species during the Krogan Rebellions. Lastly the fish is flash-cooked while being bathed in Thessian Blue Winterblend wine. She discovered it here after her mother started the tradition of eating out on her birthday, then letting the tradition fall onto Shiala after the third year.

Liara breathes in the sweat and spicy smells of her dish and she hums in approval before looking up to find the exact same thing on Scorpio's plate. Scorpio notices too and they burst out laughing at the strange coincidence before pouring some non-alcoholic wine Scorpio ordered when she wasn't looking and clinging their glasses together before taking a sip.

_This night is going to be... interesting._

* * *

Three hours later they finish up their conversation about the underlining theories about universal expansion and the effect of Dark Energy on organic tissue from biotic use while exiting Sherilun with smiles on their faces. Scorpio calls his skycar and as they speed away towards Liara's estate she thinks up another interesting topic.

"Hey, what do you think about interspecies sexual intercourse?" Scorpio immediately looks at her in shock before seeming to think about it.

Scorpio shrugs before saying, "I have no problem with it, although without proper awareness of each-other's anatomical outlines and proper sterilization, certain problems could arise. Why? what's your stance on interspecies relationships?"

Liara tilts her head and places a finger at her chin before saying, "I, as an Asari have been encouraged to seek mates outside of our species. Although I am not against such a prospect, I do not see the reason for limiting or even shunning people inside of my culture who decide to mate with one of their own kind. It seems a bit prejudicial."

Scorpio nods in understanding, "Yeah, that's usually the case, the people that preach equality being hypocritical to their own people. I've seen enough of that in my own species to cover for every other known race in Council Space."

Liara sighs in unfortunate agreement, she'd been called 'Pureblood' too many times to not agree with his statement.

The skycar lands and Liara turns to Scorpio, "I have had a wonderful evening Scorpio."

He smirks at her and says, "Ul? Telis Eliqu?" (What? What enraptures you?)

Liara frowns playfully and says, "Den Eliquin Melin, Scorpio." (You enrapture me day/night, Scorpio) She kisses his cheek and steps out of the skycar. He nods to her before taking off as Liara waves at his departing skycar.

_This was one of the best birthdays of my life, I hope to see Scorpio again soon._

Turning around she notices something off and looks down to notice her blue flower was missing. She starts to panic as to where it went before she remembers that she gave it to Scorpio as a sign of their friendship during dinner. She smiles as she remembers how difficult it was to explain the reason behind it to Scorpio, she was frazzled for all of three seconds until Scorpio smiled and said that it was beautiful and agrees to their friendship. Liara sighs happily and walks through the gates to the the T'soni estate, content that she did not end up screwing the evening up.

* * *

A/N I have not been held at gunpoint by one of my stalkers, I've been threatened with a knife and that's about it. :) Call me unlucky.


	8. Building a Better VI Part One

A/N This chapter feels a bit fast in my opinion, but what do I know? Sorry for the SIX DAY WAIT for a new chapter, it was finals week and I really hate delving into a self-proclaimed insane mind without at least eight hours of warm up. :)

Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Scorpio's shadowy skycar finally lands outside of his apartment. He stumbles out of it and shakes his head from an adverse reaction to the eezo in his food and clenches his fists, his biotics ignite brightly causing him to yell out in pain of the uncontrolled static discharge.

"AH!" He falls to his knees and pants violently as hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity escapes his body and into the cold hard ground in one flash of light blue energy.

He takes in a shaky breath, "Wa-what just happened?" He asks himself before shaking off his daze and walking inside the apartment building, now feeling particularly exhausted.

As he walks past the receptions desk the Asari attendant looks up and says, "I have a message for you, one Nilus Kryik has asked to reschedule your meeting for the the morning after tomorrow. He explained how he and his mentor had something to get don't and he wasn't going to be able to make it."

Scorpio just nods numbly to her without really acknowledging the message before walking down the hall, opening his door, and falling into his couch as he locks the door and passes out.

* * *

**Flesh melting from bone, people screaming in absolute agony, a burning noise piercing through the screams like a flare, hundreds if not thousands have arrived and I need to stop them, there is no other way. Reaching for my blade I put it up against my throat, "I'm sorry Samara." and slit my throat.**

"Gah!" My eyes open with a start. I stare into the darkness as if it was about to strangle me.

_The nightmares are back, great. What annoys me to no end is how I can't remember anything about the dream afterwards. If it was that important then you'd think I'd be able to remember even a little part of it._

Shaking my head I slowly sit up.

_I haven't had that bad of a nightmare since I predicted that Eli would be in DeadSpace 2._

My eyes widen as the memory of the dream fills my vision...

* * *

People running, corpses changing, darkness everywhere, then I heard Isaac breathing and a plasma shot. His breathing falters, another shot , and another. He's panicking I could tell, then a woman's voice... "Isaac?" His heartbeat quickens and his (my) eyes open to see Eli standing over him (me), watching him. "Eli..."

* * *

My sight returns to normal and I shake the memory from my head.

_God do I hate that. It's useful, but really hellish when I remember the bad thoughts. At first I thought I was insane when I started remembering that, now I think I'm just sensitive. Enough of them have predicted my own future that I've started to wonder if they aren't from some higher power._

I scoff as the thought crosses my mind.

_Higher power, I wish. At least with that I wouldn't feel annoyed by them. I'd be honored._

I sit up off of my couch and look at the lack of sun outside the one window above the futuristic oven. I yawn tiredly as the memories of what I did last night rush through my mind.

_Liara was stunning, not to say she wasn't beautiful before she put on the extremely delicate and expensive-looking dress, but it did her some good to boost her self confidence if only a little._

Stretch my arms I notice I'm still in my armor and remember the other important part of the evening, Liara gave me a flower.

_I didn't understand that at first, but after she explained how it represented a budding friendship I took it as a good sign._

I lift the small blue Thessian wildflower out of my pocket and smile at the strangely velvet and coarse peddles that reminded me of a rose-sunflower hybrid I saw online once.

"There is nothing more innocent then a flower first in bloom, leaves soft to the touch, stem thin and easily consumed, by the other plants in bloom." I quote from a poem a classmate wrote while I was in a poetry coarse in college.

_I know exactly what he means now. Well, I knew back then but now it means something to me._

I walk into the kitchen and pour a small glass of water before placing the flower in it and setting it on the windowsill. I notice how dark it is outside and call up my omni-tool to see it's 0113. At that moment an automated message pops up on the screen saying that the program 'LIA' had an error and needs to be restored. I frown at the message before closing it and bringing up my contacts.

_The only person I know who can fix a VI is the person who built it._

I select Seila's number and an options menu asks what I would like to do, call her, message her, or video chat. I almost hit video chat before I look at the time again and figure that she'd still be in bed, or just asleep.

_Ok, so what am I going to do for five hours?_

I decide to watch another holo-movie while eating breakfast and close down my omni-tool.

_Well, an hour of sleep is better than no sleep. It's definitely better than anything I got for the first month after the 'incident' with Sarah back home. Hmm... How am I going to describe what happened to me when I was stabbed and sub-sequentially thrown into this place? Carbuncled? I'm not even sure what that means, lets just go with Transported._

I decide to change out of my Illusive Man suit I bought on the way back to my apartment yesterday and just throw on the same I've always worn, just more futuristic, and 80% polyester. I run my hand over the smooth fabric and wonder at its creation before I find the imprinted tag and see it was 100% recycled. I nod in approval, I always wondered how long it would take for the free market to turn 100% recycled. Grabbing more Tupari and some of the left over fish for breakfast I turn the holo-projector on and load up a documentary on Thessian wildlife while chewing on some barely warm fish and native greens.

* * *

"...thus the existence of eezo within all living things on Thessia has resulted in may of them adopting biotic capabilities, another example of the resilience of organic life..."

The ending credits run along with a strange seashell clacking that I think is ancient Asari music.

_Huh, now I know why I nearly threw up and blew up at the same time last night. I've got to avoid digesting so much native flora, I don't need MORE eezo in my system then I already have._

Picking up my plate I check the time as I deposit it into the sink and remotely deactivate the projector.

_0502, good, now I can call Seila._

She answers right away, "Scorpio?" She asks as she stares in shock at her omni-tool. "What are you doing up so early?"

I smile, relieved to see another friendly face among a sea of strangers that was my social life, "I don't get a lot of sleep so I'm usually up by three or four in the morning."

She seems to stare in surprise for a moment before looking off to the side at a noise and frowning as she says, "Bosh'tet, sorry Scorpio not you, a really rude Turian just walked by and decided to say hello to the resident suit rat. Seriously why can't he just suffocate in his own gastric-intestinal fluids like a normal asshole?"

I laugh a little and shake my head at her mood, "Like usual they just pull their head out of their asses once a day for air and shove it right back up there. HAHA! Anyways, LIA is having some problems and needs an upgrade, so I decided to call my favorite Quarian programmer to see if she was available." I state happily.

_I barely know her and yet it's like we've been friends for years. Must be the enhanced social skills present in most Quarians._

Her body language perks up and she seems to smile from behind her light blue mask, "Oh! Sure! Let me just pack up some things and I'll meet you at that one bench in the markets, it's kind of my favorite spot." Seila says brightly

"Got it, say in half an hour?" I ask.

She nods just before frowning and turning left to yell, "BACK THE KEELAH OFF YOU RACIST SACK OF RAKRA!" A double toned mumbling is heard barely off screen before Seila shakes her head and says, "I've got to go, see you then." and terminates the call.

_Man, she must be dealing with some really angry Turian. I hope she isn't in any danger, wherever she's staying._

I throw on my armor reluctantly, knowing that I'm going to have to use it whether people think I'm a terrorist or not, and clamp on my SR and pistol before leaving the apartment.

_Lets see if I can use my skills at blending in to avoid alerting the APC._

Walking out into the lobby I notice the attendant watching something familiar and shift slightly closer to realize... she was watching Asari porn. I quickly blush and look once more to realize it wasn't porn, just an episode of Vaenia.

_Either way I'm getting the hell out of here._

I all but sprint out of the lobby and jump into my skycar to realize that I had no idea how to drive it without LIA.

_Frick, ok, lets see if I can figure this thing out._

I flip through the menus and memorize the functions for a moment before just giving up and looking it up on the Extranet.

_Ok, so I have to use this menu..._

* * *

A black skycar wobbles in the air for a moment before zooming off in a random direction towards a skyscraper and dives to the left around it.

"Son of a bitch!" Scorpio shouts as he inputs another line of commands just before spinning into a parking spot down the street from his destination. He staggers out of the skycar and locks it before keeling over from the rush of adrenaline.

_I really need to get more practice before doing that again._

I shake my head and lock the systems down before getting pushes slightly be someone walking by, I feel them reach into my pocket and grab onto my spare credit chit. I quickly grab their arm and throw them onto the grown while pulling out my pistol and aiming at the person. "Stay where you are or I'll fire!" The hooded figure freezes in their half-crouching position and looks up at my in fear. I raise an eyebrow at the now clearly hooded Asari and watch her green eyes glow with fright.

_She can't be more than 20 or 30 years old!_

I relax my stance and holster my gun, "What's your name? Who are you?" I ask while holding out my hand to help her up.

She stares at it for a moment before carefully taking it and finally meeting my eyes, she gasps and staggers back against my skycar, "Y-You!" She breaths in utter shock. I simply take a step forward and she presses farther against the skycar as if I was going to murder her.

"Why are you so frightened pad-foot?" I take a chance and try to talk to her like the thief she is.

She freezes up and stares at me in fear and trepidation, "I-I d-don't know what you're talking about!" I take another step forward and rest my palm to the right of her head on the skycar.

"There is nothing to be frightened about young one, I know the dark allure of being one with the shadows." I say calmly, her body language practically screams danger.

She looks away as if she was ashamed before she starts shaking, "P-please let me go. I-I will do anything you want I just want to live!" Her hands fidget nervously and I can see tears start to form in her shaded eyes.

_I am not going to get through with her like this._

I back up slightly and take out a chit with two thousand credits on it, "I'll see your freedom if you take this to your master and tell him that Scorpio wishes to talk with them about a business arrangement." I hold my hand out as if to shake, but with the chit in my palm. She stares at my hand for a small while before she reaches out and shakes it while taking the chit. She looks into my shaded eyes with her own and smiles slightly before bolting to my right and out of sight as she blends into the shadows.

_I handled that pretty well, the best information gatherers in the city are beggars and thieves, always. I was just wondering how long it would take to actually meet one, it's been weeks and I think I've spotted at least twenty of them._

I sigh at the stressfully strange situation before shaking my head and noting the event mentally.

_This day is getting really weird already._

I think about what else I could do to gain contacts on Thessia while I walk down the block and up to Seila's favorite bench to see her already sitting there, tinkering on her omni-tool like usual. I lower my hood and and mask so she can recognize me.

She looks up as I approach and I can see her eyes smile at me from behind her light blue mask, "Scorpio! It's good to see you!" She stands and hugs me for a second before pulling away and gesturing for us to sit.

"Its good to see you too Seila, how are things going?" I ask conversationally.

She looks at me strangely, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell me something, "Well... I found a place to stay since we last spoke."

I smile at her, "That's wonderful! I'm guessing it's in a community center from the unwelcome Turian who keeps harassing you?"

She pulls back in shock, "Yes, how did you-? Nevermind, I won't ask I don't really want to know." She shakes her head, "Anyways, what seems to be the problem with LIA?" She asks as she leans slightly towards me.

I call up my omni-tool and show her the error message, "This is why, it crashed and I need it upgraded to be more personable with it's answers as well. It's the only thing I get to readily talk to and it would be nice to at least pretend it was a person."

Seila shakes slightly and by the curves in her eyes she was laughing, "Oh... well..." She says quietly, trying to keep herself together.

I frown, "What's so funny?" I ask while going over what I said before.

She turns aways slightly and states, "Oh nothing..." In an innocent tone that doesn't put my mind at ease. "I will just need to access your omni-tool for a bit to implement the upgrades." She says seriously.

I reluctantly slip off the tool and hand it to her, she immediately slips it onto her right arm and types away on it's display until it changes to what I would assume was Khelish.

I sit back and look around at the people walking by and spot one or two shady people working the crowds.

_Ah, youth, I remember when I used to do that with Victoria, what a time._

I reminisce on all the coins and dollars I used to take from the more well-off people's pockets without ever being caught. Then I remember the largest score I had ever managed by myself. I was just a month into the work and had just started watching for potential targets by myself in the mall when I spotted our town's resident millionaire. An extremely successful farmer with over five thousand acres of land being rented out locally, giving his family almost six thousand a month in just rent. I watched him out of the corner of my eye and decided to follow him to see what he was up to.

Ten minutes into it he abruptly turns around and stares at me angrily. I ignore his eye and walk past him and into a department store to cover myself. I scan the room and notice it was mostly empty accept for the large amount of clothes and two or three employees wandering around. I remember waiting for half an hour before noticing my target was still wandering around in the mall. I debated actually picking his pocket since he probably already spent it all while I waited. I shake my head and silently trail him into the parking lot and survey the area before sneaking up behind him and taking his wallet from his coat pocket, I quickly empty the leather bi-fold and place it on top of his driver seat as he turns to grab his bags from the sidewalk. Dashing as quickly as I can into the nearby bushes I look at the wad of twenties in my hand and felt a slight pang of guilt that I always had when I stole.

I ended up stealing three hundred dollars that day, and I ended up giving all but one twenty away to the salvation army to rest my conscience. I stole sure, I committed criminal acts all the time in my youth, but I never kept everything I stole. Mostly everything but what I needed to cover costs was given to over a dozen charities across the county. Victoria never understood why I did what I did when I had that wad of cash in my pocket, but then again she grew up in the big city where if you didn't keep everything you took you could die from starvation within a week.

"Scorpio?" I blink and look to my left in surprise before remembering that Seila was sitting there and smiling.

I sit up and turn to her before asking, "What were you saying?"

She scowls slightly and says, "I was saying that I still have a few hours of time left on this VI and it's getting uncomfortable out here so where do you think we should go?"

I look at her for a moment before remembering my skycar and saying, "Sure, we can go to my apartment for a bit, it's pretty close."

She and I stand together and she continues to tinker on my omni-tool while we walk towards my skycar. "So, you hear about the incident at Circuits and More a few days ago?" I hear her ask from beside me.

I look over and see her looking at me, but still typing on my omni-tool. I sigh and say, "Yeah, double homicide then suicide. Really terrible."

She nods, "That was my favorite tech shop, and the only tech shop around here that would allow Quarians to purchase from them. I knew the owners, they were nice people! How some sick Salarian Bosh'tet could do something like that is beyond me." I take a deep breath and nod in agreement.

_I still remember the stench of the rotting corpses when I walked inside._

I look up and quickly pull Seila to the side as I notice APC officers walking down the street. "Scorpio! What are you do-"

I shush her, "You have to be quiet, the APC are walking by." She watches me for a moment before nodding in understanding before following me into the shadows of a back alley and crouching behind a dumpster.

We wait there as the two officers walk by and then I sigh as my alertness diminishes. "Now we can go." I say.

She grabs be by the arm as we exit and spins me around to glare angrily at me, "What was all that about?!"

I watch her for a second before saying, "The APC aren't kind to Humans anymore than Quarians. We'd be put to questioning faster then you can say, 'this is just great' and I don't feel like intimidating them right now. Sorry about all that."

She calms for a moment, "Alright, but warn me next time! You scared the hell out of me!"

Smiling, I nod in promise before walking up to my skycar and unlocking it. She steps up cautiously and examines the black surface carefully before brushing her hand almost reverently along the smooth surface and asking, "How did you afford such a beautiful piece of machinery." By the sound of her voice I realize she was in slight shock.

I walk up to her side of the skycar, "I re-built it from the ground up with parts and pieces I bought on the Extranet. The used original was really cheep."

_More like completely free, I am seriously going to get bit in the arse from all this lying one of these days._

She and I get in and she brushes her hands across the spotless dash board and holo display, "This is amazing! Why don't Quarians on pilgrimages do this?" She exclaims with delight.

I laugh as I activate the controls and carefully lift us off the ground. "I don't know, maybe they just don't think it's cost-effective." I dip the front slightly up and bite my lip as I hit the accelerator. I tense up in intense concentration from trying to avoid hitting the other skycars.

"Wow I can barely feel all the twists and turns you're doing!" She shouts excitedly.

I don't respond and just focus on guiding the skycar through traffic without smashing or crashing or-

"Gah" I hit the decelerator as a skycar nearly clips us and dive under it just in time.

_Shit this is crazy!_

"Watch where you're going you crazy little Bosh'tet!" Seila shouts at the driver I nearly hit.

_Oh god oh god oh god oh god!_

I hit the decelerator again and gently lower the skycar into the parking lot of my building before locking the parking brake into place and finally breathing again.

"Woah! lets do that again! I never knew you were so good at dodging traffic?" I stare at Seila like she was insane for a second before shaking off my adrenaline and carefully getting out.

_I really need to get more practice so I don't end up killing anybody!_

I swallow nervously as I swear to myself to never drive the hunk of expensive metal without VI assistance ever again. "Come on, my apartment in through here."

We walk through the lobby and notice the attendant was still watching Vaenia before I lead Seila to my door and call up my omni-tool. "This will take only a moment." I say while activating the hacking module I built out of boredom over the last few days in my free time.

The circular hacking module spread over the door and I hold up my Terra 7 to tap at the green sections as they appear. "What type of hacking program is that?" Seila asks from behind me.

I look at her for a second before looking back at the module and finishing the last fourth of the first ring of the hack and moving onto the six part second ring for medium locks. "I built it myself, so my own." I smile when I see her shocked look out of the corner of my eye.

"How?" I smile wider. The algorithms I downloaded into the system were super-computer grade back in the twenty first, but in this day and age they're part of basic programming.

I look at her again for a moment before finishing up the second ring and starting on the ten-sectioned third for hard-locks, "All I did was program my omni-tool to scan for a list of high-level mathematical programs and equations and use a master-calculus calculator program I bought over the Extranet to solve them. The only problem is whenever I find a program it doesn't recognize I have to solve the program manually using long-hand logarithmic calculations and polynomial synthetic division systems to the whatever degree that system is using. Which takes me about five minutes on average for a tenth-degree system." I take a deep breath and smile as I finish up the last ring and my door unlocks.

_I might not be a mathematical savant, but I know my stuff. It's why I can tell good calibrations from bad and work an omni-tool without too many problems._

Not surprisingly Seila tilts her head in a mixture of interest and confusion. "What?" She asks as we walk inside.

Dropping onto the couch I sigh and wave for her to sit as well, which she graciously accepts. "In simpler terms I gave my omni-tool ways to solve certain math equations that encrypted locks use, but if I ever find a encryption that the program doesn't have a solution for I have to do it myself." I explain as clearly as I can.

She nods without confusion and smiles while sitting back comfortably, "Oh, well now I'm really not showing a great example of the Quarian race. I like programming code but higher-grade mathematics? Noooo, Keelah no! I hate math! I like art and tinkering with interfaces not solving base six mathematics! They're just confusing to me."

We laugh at the irony. "Yeah, and I'm a human who loves tech, is a natural biotic, and can interact with Aliens without a lot of issues! We're completely nothing like our species!" I shout in realization.

We burst into fits of laughter for ten maybe fifteen minutes before finally calming down and sighing at how simple it all was right now. Seila looks around for the first time and seems surprised, "So, this is your apartment huh? It's big! Bigger then the three cubic meter cubicles we use back on the Migrant Fleet."

_Huh, I could live in a three cubic meter area. I practically did that during most of my life anyways._

"That's interesting since this apartment is the smallest I could find near the markets. You don't want to know how much I pay monthly in rent for this place." I shake my head in annoyance.

_Seriously, ten grand a month is a bit much._

She sits up and says, "Oh? It can't be that bad."

I stare at her incredulously. "Let's just say I could buy my own ship and live in it for how much I pay yearly." I state flatly.

She crosses her arms defiantly, "I seriously doubt that!"

"Really?" I ask, smirking slightly.

She nods, "Really, just tell me."

I sigh at her stubbornness, "120,000 a year."

Her eyes widened in absolute shock and she coughs in shock, "How is it that much?!"

I shake my head, "I don't know but I think it has something to do with how AAH is just down the road." Her confused look told me she wasn't familiar with the Academy.

"Oh, umm, AAH stands for the Armali Academy of the Huntress. It's been around for over 6,000 years and it trains young maidens to become Huntresses. I'm actually the first non-Asari to get in." I explain casually.

She tilts her head in question, "The first?"

I nod and interlace my hands over my lap, "Yes, they only allow natural biotics, biotics that don't use an amp, to train there. I'm an extremely special case where as like most Asari I don't need an amp to use my biotics. It was previously impossible for any other species to even think about using them without an amp or a lot of cybernetic implants an-" I cut myself off to avoid anymore rambling. "Anyways, let's finish our work."

She nods in agreement before pausing and looking at me, "So you know how to clean weapons? I have no time so they can get a bit... rough and if you could help?" She hands me her pistol and I blink at how wrecked it was, melted drips of fuses metal was lining the outsides of the metal casing, the color was all but seared off by what looks like an incinerate, and when I look at the ammo block I see it was shredding pieces of the interior of the gun for ammunition!

"MOTHER OF HELL SEILA! What did you do to this thing?! throw it into a pit of lava?!" She winces at my words.

She frowns deeply, "No! Like I said I don't maintenance them as often as I should!"

I shake my head and swap my Terra 7 onto my right wrist before getting to work on the nearly scrapped pistol.

* * *

Twenty minutes later I'm nearly finished restoring the main exterior and decide to start on the interior using my mini-fabricator. First I pull out a small crate from under the coffee table next to my weapons case and set it onto the table. I open it up to reveal small bars of metallic elements I had ordered to test out my omni-tool's mini-fabricator, and forgot about until now. I pick up a small platinum bar and smile.

_But now they're perfect for weapon repair._

I activate my omni-tool and begin rebuilding the interior of the mangled piece of _Kreck_.

* * *

An hour and a half later I'm done. I literally had to re-fabricate everything but the wiring, casing and one frictionless material mod I scanned for personal re-fabrication later. "And there." I say with a heavy sigh.

_That took about as long as I expected._

Seila looks up from her code and blinks, "What? Oh! I'm sorry, I had a brilliant idea on how to increase the VI's reaction time and the time just got away from me. Is this...?" I hand her the pistol.

She marvels at the its sleek design and carefully run her hands over the shining metal. "This, this is just like new! How do you do it?! It's crazy! It's insane!" She exclaims in absolute shock.

I shrug and smirk at her, "It's me." I laugh at the accurate description she did of me without even trying.

She hurriedly finishes up the last few lines of code and smiles triumphantly, "It's finished, and it's even better than Avina from the Citadel! The only problem is it takes up a lot of data space. 200 terabytes." She says apologetically as she downloads LIA into five OSD's and hands them and my omni-tool back to me.

I blink in surprise as I take them, "Holy frick! That's like re-downloading all my combat programs!"

Seila sighs at my reaction and shifts angrily, "I know... agh! I'm sorry but to process this effectively you'll need another omni-tool."

_Another? Seriously?_

I show her the purple display on my right arm, "I already have another omni-tool, you think I can just use this one?" I ask, hopeful that I wouldn't have to buy ANOTHER expensive omni-tool.

Seila's eyes land on the omni-tool and she stares in what I assume is shock, "Oh Keelah! You? You, how did you? You found it!"

I hesitantly ask, "I found what?"

Her eyes sparkle from behind her visor. "You found my old omni-tool! Where did you get it?!"

_Ohhh... Ok, now I see- And I stole it from her favorite shop._

I stifle a sigh of exasperation and say, "I bought it from Circuits and More along with my Savant, um... do you want it back?"

She looks at me and wrings her hand slightly before saying, "Yes! I'll be extremely happy if I do! I haven't built an omni-tool that beautiful since in years! Actually I built this one as a replacement," She activates her tool to show a crisp-clear sky-blue holographic display. "But it still doesn't hold a blow torch to my Terra 7! If I help you build another one can you let me have it?"

I nod and smile at her, "Yeah that'll be awesome! I've always wanted to know how to build an omni-tool!"

She nods enthusiastically and rubs her hands together, "Now, where do you want to start? It'll take a REALLY long time to get the basic theories out of the way. Do you have any questions before we start?"

_How did she get the display to be a different color?_

"Wow, how's the processor?" I asked excitedly while pointing at her blue omni-tool.

She smiles and starts explaining the specs, "It has a 120GB/second processor with over a terabyte of RAM. The band can hold twelve separate OSD's and has a maximum capacity of three petabytes of data on the system. The best part is that it can integrate into older omni-tools to share processing power collectively or you could link it into your hard-suit computer to boost processing power in combat!"

_Three petabytes! Three thousand terabytes! Holy god!_

I sit there, staring at her incredulously.

_So they actually hit the petabyte, I've been wondering._

"So... how good is this compared to your old one?" I asks curiously.

She shakes her head, "It doesn't even compare to it! My Terra 7 could run three times my own omni-tool's maximum capacity with ease! And this one is the equivalent of twenty Savant III's working cooperatively!" I blink in shock and astonishment.

_That's just... insane! That's phenomenal! That's..._

I stay quiet for a moment, thinking about how much that really was.

_Liara could probably run the entire info-network with five of them._

"How much did it cost you to make it?!" I ask her with a boiling enthusiasm.

She sighs with what sounds like frustration, "Enough that the Fleet sent me out on Pilgrimage early to pay it off."

Catching her depressed tone I apologize, "Oh, sorry."

She shakes her head, "No, it's alright. This technology on the market is well worth the cost, but to an individual it's very costly. 80,000 credits worth of materials and over a year of programming. It's just not worth it right now."

_Hmm... but in a few years..._

"You could sell the schematic for a huge profit if you refine it. Maybe make it run five times as fast as a Savant III instead of twenty times and only hold one petabyte of data at once instead of three. That way you could cut costs and maximize profit."

She laughs, "You sound like a Volus economist, but I get what you mean. I'll work on it. For now I need to teach you how to build an omni-tool."

She calls up some schematics and put them up on the holo-projector. "Ok first thing you do is..."

* * *

(Eight hours later)

"...and you have a fast-running, low-cost omni-tool for all your personal needs." She shut off the projector and starts picking up her forty OSD's that held the secrets to how the omni-tool works.

I look up at her in astonishment and hand her a dark matter stabilizer unit she let me inspect. "So after you build the exterior holo-projector it's a guessing game as to how the Tornic propulsion system actually works in cohesion with the dark matter stabilizers?" She collapses her metallic pointer and nods as she packed up her display collection of ancient omni-tools she started collecting when she was three.

"Yes, the dark matter converters have to be miss-aligned to a certain degree to allow the conversion of matter to energy effectively, otherwise nothing works and the entire thing goes BOOM! after you start it up."

I smile thoughtfully. "Fascinating..."

_I had to take a lot of notes, it's as complex as building a skycar from scratch! Without a schematic! Or an omni-tool!_

"I should go, my Bosh'tet roommate is probably worried I died or something. See you later!" Seila steps out, reverently grooming her old Terra 7 I gave her as the door closes behind her silently.

Following her path to the door I try and calm my adrenaline rush with deep breaths. "My head is spinning, what a day!" Re-encrypting the door I spend a couple of minutes cleaning up the bits of metal scrap Seila had used to demonstrate the gravitation effect of dark matter with an omni-tool.

_She orbited them around a micro singularity above our heads for eight seconds! It was awesome!_

I seal the crate of metal scrap, tossed it into the Turian chair for later and went to take a shower, my mind still racing with the knowledge that everything every scientist thought was correct about the universe from my time was wrong.

* * *

**"Shots fired shots fired! We're going down! We can't stop them! How did they break through?! I need reinforcements on the doubl- *BOOM!* Did Scorpio make it to the temple? Wait... what's tha- oh goddess no! AHHHH!"**

I jump awake panting, sweat trickling down my face as the last of the voices bled away from my memory. "What the frick was that?" I ask as I clench my chest and breath. I was alive, I was fine.

Taking a deep breath, I look at the time on my omni-tool. "0021? Well... I'm not going back to sleep after THAT dream." I mutter as I close my eyes and sigh as my heart finally slowed down to its average one beat per second.

_I never understand why I have these anymore._

A pounding hits my door and I instinctively jump up and grab my pistol from the coffee table and aim it at the door. The pounding continues in three beat increments. *pound* *pound* *pound* I walk up to the door and open it while brandishing my pistol and stare down the sights at the Turian and he looks back at me in slight shock before saying, "Scorpio? It's Nilus? I said I had to reschedule for this morning?" I quickly lower my pistol and rub my eyes as he walks inside.

_Why is he here?_

Slapping myself on the forehead I sigh at my own stupidity of forgetting about the meeting we scheduled and walk up behind him after re-locking the door. He looks around for a bit, looking as tired as I feel.

_I expected him to arrive at 0500, not right after midnight!_

I tap him on the shoulder, "Hey Nilus?" He spins around and shoves a gun in my face.

My eyes widen as my adrenaline spikes. Now completely awake, I hold up my hands and stare down the barrel nervously before he realizes who I am and lowers it. "Sorry, can't be too careful. You wanted me to come for some information you had?"

_God does his voice bring back some horrible memories. Eden Prime, Saren, Sovereign..._

"Yeah you can sit in the recliner," I wave my hand at the alien chair I didn't remove when I moved in. "It's specifically made for Turians, I know how uncomfortable human furniture can be for other aliens so I kept it just in case." His tired eyes seem to brighten up a bit at the sight of the chair.

_Huh, I guess the _nowhere to sit_ thought was more of a problem then I expected._

Shrugging slightly I walk into the kitchen and open the fridge. I remember seeing an ad that was about how Tupari drinks were DNA neutral, so Asari and Turians could drink it. "Hey, you want some Tupari? You seem thirsty." I heard a comfortable sigh and something resembling a small purr coming from the living room so I stuck my head in to see Nilus fast asleep in the recliner, his left hand curled around his pistol as a precaution.

_Oh, that's just too cute! And a bit terrifying. I think I'll let him rest._

Yawning myself, I quietly chuckle at my situation and grab some clothes before walking into the bathroom to change. I look at myself in the mirror and see how tired my dark brown eyes were. looking up I raised an eyebrow at my messed up hair and decide a shower was in order.

_This whole time I've been here I think I've showered three times. I need to get back on a schedule._

As I finish I notice my wounded foot had healed over and I grab my omni-tool from the counter.

_Lets see if I can manage to remove the medi-gel without cutting my foot off._

Activating my omni-tool, I sent an ultra-sonic pulse through the crusty medi-gel. The gel melted off my skin and washed down the drain with ease to reveal freshly grown scarr-free, pale as usual skin.

_Miracles of modern medicine I guess._

I made a mental note to buy more of the military grade medi-gel since it seems to work extremely well and step out of the shower. I throw on my regular attire and walk my dirty clothes and armor to the hamper next to the all of crates in the living-room. I turn around and notice Nilus, still fast asleep in the recliner and purring like a 300 pound kitten.

_Note to self, find out why Turians purr when comfortable._

Grabbing my laundry, I decide to find out how to clean them and walk out the door before placing a hard-set encryption on it and turning to walk down the hall and towards my building's laundry room.

* * *

**The Turian fleet stayed above Palavan, keeping us covered as we fought through waves and waves of these... things. A private said something about them being Batarians, I couldn't tell, they were too mutated into abominations for me to care. All I knew is that my family was here, and they were in danger. So I fought. "Sargent!" **

**I stood at attention as my commanding officer walked up to me with a data-pad in his talons. "Sir!" I responded proudly. **

_**Ive always been proud of what I became. After fathers death, I've been wondering how to make a difference, but now I was. I was fighting the good fight.**_

**"At ease." I lowered my arm and accepted the datapad. "You are to take your squad up the south passage and wipe out the enemy forces there, then re-take the over-run supply depot a mile north so we can drop supplies in from the fleet!" An explosion rocks the area and we regain our balance after a moment of stagger. I nod my head like a good Turian and wait for my superior to leave before blinking again. Taking in a deep breath I went to gather my squad for the fight. **

**I found them in the make-shift supply center at the center of the camp. Delin our tech specialist was flirting unsuccessfully with a civilian recruit, Selia our resident Cabal Vanguard and the only female in our squad was polishing her duel poison blades while conversing with Betorn, Betorn our demolitions expert, and Fern the best sniper in the 56th Battalion, were both playing some strange omni-tool game while keeping an eye on the clock for when we needed to deploy again. They all but ignored me as I approach, I was the youngest of the group and they didn't think I was fit to lead them into battle. I clear my throat to get their attention, "Team, we've been assigned a new mission, we need to wipe out a squad of hostiles bunkered down in the south passage and head north to retake the supply depot so the fleet's ships have a place to land when they come around to do a supply drop." They all nod like good Turians, but I could still tell there was some reluctance in them as they grab their weapons and march by me. I take a deep breath to steady my nerves and walk out after them, wondering who would come back from this mission alive to tell their friends about it...**

Nihlus's eyes shoot open from the strangely realistic dream.

_By the spirits that was strange. That was my son I think... but he's only six years old right now! What was he fighting on Palavan? Wait... why was Palavan under siege!_

Nihlus collects his racing thoughts and takes a calming breath before completely forgetting the dream and noticing he wasn't in his apartment.

_Where am I?_

Searching the small apartment with his eyes he notices he was sitting in a vintage Palaven-style chair and shifted to make sure it wasn't a mirage before smiling. This was the first chair that was made with Turian's in mind that he'd seen in months. Looking more closely around the apartment his eyes spotted a crate that was sitting on what humans called a coffee table.

_*scoff* More like foot-rest, why do they have to make them so short?_

Nihlus shakes his head clear a bit more and looks past the foot-rest at what looks like a wall of storage crates. He blinks in surprise and wonders how anyone could obtain so many crates before he shifts again. Something didn't feel right to him, he looks down and frowns at the pistol his left hand, he follows the way it was aiming and finds the exit.

_When am I ever going to relax if my reflexes do that when I pass out?_

He holsters the gun and closes his eyes for a moment to remember where he was when he passed out.

_Trying to get information from the Human named Scorpio, I was in the lobby and-_

His eyes fly open as he remembers why he was there and he stands up carefully to avoid waking the renter of the small apartment. He bends his knees and flares his mandibles as he stretches his sleep away.

_That was a good nap._

Opening his omni-tool to check his messages his brow-plates jump as he spots the clock in the corner of the screen.

_0901, last time I checked the time it was 0001 and I was talking with an Asari clearly addicted to that vid she was watching and warding off a drunken stranger trying to get me to dance with her._

Nihlus shakes his head and turns off his omni-tool in favor of wandering the apartment.

_I may be a Spectre, but I respect people's schedules. If they're asleep then I do something constructive and wait until they wake up._

Walking into a kitchen of some sort he notices a fridge and walks over.

_Is it too much to hope for some Tupari to be stocked in it?_

Opening the fridge cautiously he peeks in and seeing something familiar he swings the door open and flares his mandibles widely at the familiar look of my favorite soft drink in nearly every flavor they make it.

_Oh spirits... I think I just died and went to heaven!_

Grabbing some Palaven Liern-flavored Tupari he happily cracks the seal and shivers at the familiar sound of carbonation fizzing.

_Oh spirits do I love that sound._

Nihlus chugs the entire bottle in eight seconds and clicks his mandibles in happiness as the all-to-familiar feeling of bubbling carbonation rushed down his throat.

_I really do love Tupari, It's a great traveling drink. Too bad Saren hates the stuff._

Grabbing another bottle Nihlus closes the fridge and walks over the the lone window that sat over the Burkner cook-all oven and watches as the skycars flew by without a care in the galaxy.

_Spirits it would be nice if I could just retire to somewhere remote, blend in with some basic job to pay rent and just live my life in total peace and quiet with my family._

Remembering his mate sent a message to him last night while he waited for Scorpio to get home he rereads it and sends one back to his family with his love attached via heart-chip.

_She's the only woman I could love. It's shameful not being there for her and my son. They understand the situation, I do as well, but some-days I just want to quit everything so I don't end up dead and leave my family fatherless like my own did after the Relay 314 Incident._

He sighs, frustrated, and cracks the seal on his second Tupari. His mood instantly brightens and a grin turns his face upwards as he starts yet another round of heaven.

* * *

(Scorpio POV)

Walking down the corridor I notice the entire floor was silent except for a slight rumbling coming from the laundry room at the end of the hall. Stepping into the room I notice another person doing laundry. An Asari, a naked Asari.

_Ok, I know they do this thing all the time, but it's really uncomfortable in here right now._

I do my best to ignore her as I read the instructions for the machines and find that there was no washer and dryer in the future. It's all one machine that apparently uses precise mass effect fields and vibrations to separate the dirt and grim from clothes and armor without destroying the fabric!

That, is just awesome!

I walk over to one and toss everything I had into it before paying the fifty credit fee to start it. It hums to life and spun and shook relatively quietly. "Oh, am I in your way?" I hear from my right.

Turning I focus my vision on the Asari's face and smile. "No you're not, I'm just a bit new to all this." She raises a non-existent eyebrow in question.

"You haven't been in this apartment building for long?" She asks curiously.

I nod and hold out my hand palm side up in an Asarian hand shake. "My name's Scorpio, I've been on Thessia for nine days so I'm actually new to everything here."

She stares in surprise at my hand, but smiles before placing her palm over mine gently. "I am Neril'Terol, new to the building." We pull back our hands and she looks me over with a smirk.

_Oh god, this is awkward as hell!_

"Not bad, you an assassin?" She asks seriously.

I blink at her. "What?"

She smirks and crosses her arms over her bare chest. "You don't have to hide it from me. The quiet steps, polite behavior regarding a total stranger, strangely orderly clothes for just waking up, watching for threats wherever they might be." I frown as she turns around to fold her laundry. "I half expect you to have a combat sword of some-sort strapped to your thigh." She winks at me as my left eye twitches in slight annoyance.

"I'm not an assassin." I say forcefully.

_Though now that I think about it, a retractable combat sword does sound pretty nice for when I can't use my biotics._

She turns fully towards me and scoffs loudly, "Oh of course! You're just really sociable, extremely tidy, very paranoid, and psychologically insane." She states in a sarcastic sing-song voice before pointing an accusing finger at me. "I know your kind! Always ready to kill someone, but too dull to actually do it!"

I held up my hands in protective shock. "Whoa, calm down! I'm actually not an assassin! I might have the mental capacity for such and the abilities, but I don't do that!"

She frowns dangerously at me, "If you come anywhere near Lial I'll rip you apart like the demon you are!" She shouts with absolute venom in her voice.

A burning rage starts to built from being falsely accused, but I keep it contained to avoid accidentally flaring my biotics. Taking a deep breath I look into her deep blue eyes and start connecting the dots.

_Defensive against assassins, watching everyone around her, analyzing everything she can see, protecting a supposed lover or sister named Lial, and her deep blue eyes._

Thinking over it all in a few seconds as I stare at her, two conclusions came to mind, she was protecting a criminal/innocent, or she was harboring an Ardat-Yakshi.

_Oh fuck me..._

My eyes widened at the realization.

_Why do I always have to deal with these things? I mean can't I have ONE normal day in my life?!_

"Well... whoever Lial is, she seems like she's in trouble. If you need any help..." I start to say.

Her anger falters and she blinks away her tears before turning away and saying, "We don't need your help." She gathers her pile of clothes and starts walking towards the exit, but something in me told me to stop her.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I just thought you or Lial were in trouble and my first instinct was to help." She turns towards me and I could see the fear and sadness in her eyes, even though her face was pulled together in anger. I lower my arms and continue, "I don't know you, but I can see when someone is in a bad situation, it's one of my talents. I'm simply offering my help if you require it. My apartment room number is 13, knock twice and I'll answer." A low beep came from behind me and out of reflex I turned abruptly and stood in a defensive stance I adopted from hours of gaming, a nearby improvised pole held above my head, ready to strike.

"Cycle complete." The machine stops its spinning and unseals

"Not an assassin... quit lying to yourself." I turn to argue back, but she was gone.

_Strange girl._

Turning back to the machines I frown at the multiple cycles and groan angrily as I send another fifty credits to the machine.

_This is going to take a while._

Calling up my omni-tool I start looking up anything and everything about one Neril'Terol.

* * *

"Great, another wasted twenty minutes" I exit out of the fifteenth search protocol I attempted and sigh in exasperation.

_I can't find ANYTHING about either Asari! Not one thing! I even called the manager for the building and she said she knew nothing about a Neril or Lial!_

Rubbing my now even more tired eyes, I decide to just tap into the feeds for the camera in the room and run her face over the Extranet.

I access the firewalls and break them using my hacking module and I rewind to the time I arrived.

"What the fuck!" I watch myself walk into the room, look to my right, talk to no visible person, and then start searching for the person on my omni-tool.

...

_Oh shit, I'm hallucinating again._

I run a hand down my face and sigh in exasperation, "I don't need this!"

*beep* I jump at the noise and sigh as I realize it was the machine again.

_I need to get a grip! If I can't get a hold on reality I'll be useless in the fight to stop the Reapers!_

I grab all of my clothes and armor before walking back down the hall, wondering if I could actually stay sane long enough to help Shepard.

* * *

A/N Continues on the next chapter, and I'd like to know what you guys/gals think about my story so far. A lot of people are favoriting this story but I'm curious as to why. Is it the story? The character? Or is it how I'm writing this story? I can't make this thing awesome without some feedback! ;)

And for those of you who knew that Thessia didn't have a moon, thanks for NOT telling me! I'll be editing the last few chapters asap just to make it 100% to the lore of the Mass Effect Universe. If any of my loyal viewers know about anything regarding uncommon lore written by Bioware please send me a link or something because I do not want to get anything wrong. I've already had to deal with some furious super-fans trolling me about Thessia's non-moon because I didn't know the truth in the matter. :/

Thanks to you all and I'll see you next time! ~BlackenedAsh24


	9. Building a Better VI Part two

A/N I've been having a great time writing!

Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Still trying to wrap my head around how I hallucinated a naked Asari, I open up my apartment and look across the room into the kitchen to find Nihlus standing there, looking out the window in what looks like deep thought.

_He must be thinking about something pretty hard not to notice what's happening around him._

I shrug and put away my clothes in a few crates before throwing on my armor and running a diagnostics check to make sure the wash didn't wreck anything.

_He is seriously the least likely person from the Mass Effect Universe that I would expect to see in my apartment._

Clipping my hood into place I my mask up and let the diagnostic run for another minute before ending it and nodding to myself that everything seemed normal. Walking over to Nihlus I carefully tap him on the shoulder to try and break him from his thoughts, "Nihlus?" He doesn't respond. He just continues to stand there, staring unblinking into the quiet morning of Armali. I place a hand on his shoulder and shake him slightly, "Nihlus?" He blinks and looks at me, But he still seems lost in thought.

_Ok, this is getting weird._

"Nihlus!" I back-hand him across the face, hard.

His mandibles twitch and he groans painfully while holding his face. "Oh... spirits... I've got lay off the Tupari." He mutters to himself before looking at me. He blinks in surprise that I was standing there before looking at his omni-tool and raising both eye-plates in even more surprise. "Spirits... has it really been two hours?" He shakes his head and solidifies his resolve before looking at me with a painful expression, "I feel like my I was just hit by a Krogan biotic hammer!" He rubs his cheek while flexing his jaw.

I cringe, "Sorry, you were out of it, I didn't know what else to do short of firing a round off next to your head." I say apologetically.

He shakes his head, "No, it's alright. My wife does the same thing whenever I come home. I'm used to taking beatings."

I nod, "You do seem rough around the edges." I comment while trying to stay positive.

He stares at me for a second before saying, "I'm a Turian, I'm spiky, being called rough is just a compliment. At least that's what I think. You tell Saren that he's looking a bit rough and he'll bite your head right off."He laughs slightly and shakes his head, "Spirits is he serious. I told him once that he needed to relax once in a while and he just stares at me like I was crazy!" Nihlus shakes his head.

I freeze up slightly at hearing Saren's name before smiling and pushing Saren out of my mind. "So you're a Spectre?" I ask, trying to get a friendly conversation started.

He shakes his head before sipping a bit of some Tupari, "Not yet, I'm still in my apprenticeship. Saren is showing me the ropes to I don't screw up and 'misrepresent the Turian people' like he always reminds me." He sighs and takes another sip of Tupari before looking out the window again. "Sometimes I wonder if he's only concerned with taking revenge for his father. He died in the Relay 314 incident." Nihlus pauses before looking at me and saying, "Sorry, First Contact."

I wave him off, "It doesn't bother me, I know what both sides did wrong and how much of a misunderstanding it became."

Nihlus blinks, "You don't seem to hold any resentment towards my people like some of your politicians." He smiles, or at least I think it's a smile. "Very progressive of you Scorpio. We share a similar mindset. The Humans were in the wrong according to laws they didn't even know existed. The captain of the cruiser that lead that first assault against the Human fleets had a lapse of judgment and caused a war over a miscommunication." He nods to his own words.

I cross my arms, "Our ancestors have an amazingly similar tenancy for stubbornness."

He coughs as he drinks the rest of the bottle of Tupari and laughs quietly, "You have cast the right net Scorpio, our people need to work together more often then not. War solves nothing." He sets the empty bottle down on the counter and stretches his neck a bit before going serious, "Now, what was the information you wanted to inform me of?" He asks, slightly flabbergasted.

_Straight to business huh, ok._

"The incidents that happened nine days ago were connected." I pause, hoping he would understand what I was talking about.

He frowns after a moment, seemingly aware of what incidents I was talking about, "How?" He asks while walking past me and into the living room.

I follow him and try to explain, "I was there, I... saved the girl and...killed the General." I internally cringe at how brute that sentence sounded.

_It sounded a lot less like a confession in my head._

His talons twitch towards his weapons as he scowls dangerously, "You? What happened!" His sharp eyes search my face for answers so I give them to him.

I sigh in exhaustion and walk past him to quickly turn the bed back into a couch before sitting down. He stays where he is.

_Probably deciding whether or not to kill me._

"I haven't been on Thessia long. Only about..." I thought about how long it's been for a moment to get it right. "Thirteen days? Anyways, I was walking down the street in the markets, towards _The Chained Krogan_ to find some weapons and armor when I heard a noise." My vision blurs with the memories of the past and I let them wash over me, I needed to tell him it exactly as it happened from my perspective...

* * *

"A cry, quiet, full of fear. My eyes search for the familiar sound. None to be seen. Another... my feet lead me quietly into the ally to my left. Eyes adjusting, my vision is clear as I see a Turian holding down a young Asari child. Frustrated grunts echo silently through the dark space. Sneaking in closer I see the Turian was beating the girl into a pulp. Rage filled my soul as I stood behind him and screamed 'FUCKING GET OFF HER NOW!' I throw a massive wave of biotic energy against the naked Turian, pushing him off of the whimpering girl. Fear in her eyes, she hides behind me as I slam wave after wave of biotic energy into the staggering Turian until, finally, I force all of my energy out in a throw field. Smashing the Turian into the far wall, cracks from his bones and plates breaking filled the air as his screams alerted the local police to the incident..."

* * *

Slamming my eyes shut I cut off my Solipsism and shake my head clear of the emotions it brought up. "He was trying to rape her, so I stopped him. That's how I learned about my biotics, I nearly caused permanent neural scarring on my spinal cord from the exertion and was in a coma for eight days. The Turian General died on the operating table from blood loss and organ failure. The little girl..." I search my thoughts for the name, "Mila was her name, she's the daughter of Matriarch Lidanya. You can get an eye-witness report from officer Rila at APC. She's the one who saved me, and stayed to make sure I was alright." My voice at this point is hollow, void of any emotion.

As I finish the story and look up to see Nihlus' reaction. His mandibles are wide in what I assume is shock and his eye-plates complimented the look, since they were as high as they could go.

H blinks for a moment before closing his mouth, "Well... shit. I'll have to investigate this and talk to some people. If what you say is true... then we have a major political incident just waiting to be uncovered." He starts walking towards the door before stopping and looking over his shoulder, "Oh, and thanks for the Tupari, it was quite delicious, and for listening, you have a way of getting people to divulge their secrets you know?" He turns back to me.

I nod, "I studied to be a psychologist in college before ending up here so I'm a good listener."

Nihlus smiles nervously, "I think I'm going to avoid telling Saren about how I gained this information, he'd throw something at me if he hears about you."

I smile before internally face-palming and lowering my mask and hood to smiling at him properly. "I think that's for the best, come by anytime by the way. If you need someone to talk to who's not you wife or_ Saren_, then you're free to stop by for some Tupari and a place to rest."

He bows to me and I stand to mirror it. "I'll contact you when I've finished the investigation. If your telling the truth then you'll need some closure when this is all over." He walks out, leaving me standing there in slight shock.

_God that was tense. He isn't Saren but he's definitely not harmless. I can't believe he actually listened to me! Well, I guess having a good memory means something?_

Shrugging I take a deep breath and let it out slowly to get over how strangely good it felt to tell someone about it.

_He's really an intelligent person, I knew he didn't despise Humanity, but now I think I might have made a friend in him. _

Relaxing into the couch, I went over my mental list of what I could do today.

_Now that that's over with, I can focus on something other than my mental health. __Well, I've got to learn how to maintenance my own weapons eventually, also I've got Seila coming over later to help me build that omni-tool._

Opening up my Reaper's case I grab the smooth, clean red and white metallic body of the sniper rifle and hold it in my hands for a moment before activating it. A strange elation comes over me as I hold the fully armed rifle in my hands, I place the feeling as protection, security. I look down the sights and frown at how inaccurate they were. I tweak the nobs on the side of the scope for a bit, making the sighting as perfect as possible.

_I love working on weapons, whether it be my dagger or my father's AR-15 rifle it brings a kind of peace of mind to me knowing how to work these dangerous weapons._

Without LIA able to help me, I access the Extranet and start looking for manuals on my weapons.

_This is going to take a while._

* * *

After an hour and a half of tinkering and cleaning, I finish, content that my weapons were decently maintained and working properly.

_It's still strange being here, in this universe. It seems so familiar, yet unknown. I feel like an explorer of a new world. A world so alien and different that no-one else had even dared to understand it, and yet I can. Hmph, my parents always marveled at how quickly I could adapt to a situation, now I know what they mean._

Packing up my weapons and sheathing my dagger back into it's housing, I sit back on the couch and think about what else I could do while I waited for Seila to arrive.

Meditate, make breakfast, watch the news... Well, I could try looking up stocks like I used to do in my free time back in my home universe.

I call up my omni-tool and search for stock trades. selecting the first option for a better view, the page brings up a report about a Hanar mining company going under due to investors taking all of their money out of the company. Wondering why, I open up the attached news report and figure out it was due to an outsourcing problem with the Hanar's automated eezo mining equipment, where it costs just slightly too much to mine compared to places like Omega or the Volus Mining Company.

Hmm... well I always liked a challenge.

I create an account to trade with and dump two thousand credits into it. Then I buy up a massive amount of the mining company's stocks at less then 13 credits a piece. I also put forward some purchases of other manufacturing companies around Asari space to balance out any potential losses.

I hope I didn't just waste my credits on a worthless idea, but I did the same as soon as I turned 18 in my own universe and gained a 200% profit within the first quarter so who knows.

I smile at the look on my mother's face when I told her I paid for a new gaming system, my health insurance, car insurance, and this semesters tuition in college with the earnings.

_She was so freaked out! I could have sworn I saw her mind freeze up when I finally finished how much I paid for! Unfortunately the second quarter plummeted and I had to pay nearly all of what I gained back, but it was a good run non-the-less._ _I wonder how long it'll be before I see a profit this time? Probably a few months at least._

*beep*

I'm thrown out of my thoughts instantly from my omni-tool alerting me that I have a new message. Checking it, I frown.

_Sender: unknown_  
_Receiver: unknown_  
_Subject: unknown_

_Dear Scorpio, We have confirmed your arrival has been according to schedule. Do not be alarmed by our knowledge of you. We will not do you harm. We are requesting that you meet us at the address below. _

_453 Strip-drawn dr. Armali, Thessia. _

_Further instructions will accommodate you on arrival._  
_~D_

_What the hell?_

Thinking about what a risk it was I decide to not go to the address as I turn off my omni-tool and walk into the kitchen to make something to eat.

_I'm not falling for that trick. I'll let the messed up aliens deal with the micro-techs._

...

"Ok, I REALLY need to get more sleep. I'm starting to loose it even more then usual." I shake my head and before grabbing everything I need to make an omelet and sipping a Levo-Tupari as I get to work.

_Ok, so who is this 'D'? I don't know anyone with that as the first initial from either universe._

I flip the omelet to cook evenly and turn the temperature down before grabbing a plate and fork.

_My old name is Dylan, no that IS my name!_

I shake my head angrily.

_I am NOT going to loose myself in Scorpio's life!_

Lowering my head tiredly, I close my eyes and try to get over the rushing thoughts that are spiraling around in my head.

"Let those without a destiny, for the years we spent in darkness, be called upon to state our legacy." I take a deep breath after quoting my thoughts and plate the omelet.

"I know I'm here for a reason, whether I'll know that reason any time soon is up to the Universe." Walking into the Living room, I sit down and quietly eat my breakfast, not wiling to watch the news or a movie, they would just worsen my mood.

* * *

As I finish up the last of the omelet, someone knocks on my door. I quickly finish up my Tupari and toss the plate in the sink before opening the door to find Seila.

"Oh hey Seila!" I smile as I greet her.

She looks up from her omni-tool, slightly startled. "You do know that the Asari attendant is watching a porno in the lobby right?" She says as she walks inside to place her materials onto the coffee table.

I shut and lock the door, "Actually it's Vaenia, an Asari romance movie."

I stand next to her as she shakes her head and places a bracket out on the table. "Well, it didn't look like that from where I was standing! She was staring at the screen!" She sighs as she starts to take out small bars of metal. "I'm forgetting about it. I have everything we need to create a new omni-tool. I spend half the morning scavenging the materials from a recycling plant downtown."

Ok, well, I'll have to reimburse her for her time then.

I rub my gloved hands together, "Alright, so where do we get started?" She takes a band of metal and starts burning lines of copper into the surface while I follow her orders to the letter...

* * *

"Ok, so now you need to do the hard part, sinking up the dark matter stabilizers." I nodded at Seila's instruction and held my omni-tool as stable as humanly possible as I started fusing the two sinks together...

*BEEP* "Ah!" I jump back from the half-fabricated omni-tool and hope to god I didn't just wreck something important.

"Scorpio what are you doing?!" She all but throws me away as she jumps into action to finish the delicate work of fusing the two micro-bombs together before the timing gyros went out of sink.

"Sorry! Sorry, my omni-tool beeped and it scared me!" She waves her free hand at me to shut up and I back away slowly before walking into the kitchen for a breather. "Phew, Goddess is this intense..." I chug half of a Tupari and shake my adrenaline rush off before closing the fridge and walking back into the living-room/bedroom to watch the master work. Seila's hands move with absolute precision as she ever-so-carefully finishes one of the most dangerous parts of constructing an omni-tool.

_I am SO glad she decided to jump in and fix what I did. I would have blown myself up by now if it wasn't for her stepping in to help._

I activate my omni-tool and tap open the message to see it was the exact same one from before, still asking me to go to 453 Strip-Drawn dr. Armali Thessia.

_Why are they asking me? What's so important that whoever these people are keep hounding me?_

I close the message and go back to watching Seila redo some of my choppy welds on the casing...

* * *

_1632..._

I sigh in frustration as I closed the same message AGAIN, Seila had to rebuild a lot of what I did this morning and I was getting a bit short with whoever keeps sending me these damn messages.

"Scorpio! Pay attention! This is delicate work!" I blink and redouble my efforts of holding the thin casing for the band in place.

"Sorry, these messages are distracting me."

"Then block the sender already! I am sick of having to redo your _Bosh'tet_ work because you get distracted too easily!" She chides me while multi-tasking on her omni-tool to check the polarity of the dark matter stabilizer we were having trouble with.

"I think that might be a problem at the moment." I was holding two wires up to different areas of the one millimeter thick Tornic engine under a microscope Seila could somehow fit in one of her suit pockets.

_I'll need to ask her about that later._

"*SIGH!* Then shut up and move one wire to circuit 871 and the other to conductor 322 before I smash your head through the foot-rest!" Seila screams.

"Coffee table." I refute

"Whatever! Just do it you Ho'lek!" She says furiously.

I cringe and carefully shift the wires around, "Is it aligned yet?" I could hear her typing franticly behind me.

...

...

"Well?" I try and bend my head back to see what she was doing.

"What? Oh yes, fuse them where they are, its properly polarized." She says calmly, as if nothing was wrong.

I bite back a Quarian swear I learned from her around noon and fuse the wires in place before finally taking my hand off the microscope. "Ok, what's next?" I ask reluctantly. I turn around and watch her as she scrolls through the checklist I typed up on a data-pad.

Her gloved finger stops and she nods, "It looks like all that's left is the start up." She throws the data-pad off to the side and knocks a crate of used up metal scrap off the coffee table and all over the floor.

I glare at her angrily, "Hey watch it!"

She shrugs, "What? It's scrap metal."

My left eye starts to twitch as my biotics start to flare up, "Yeah, and it's on MY floor!"

She folds her arms over her chest, "*Scoff* YOUR floor! You do realize you could own a starship for what you pay in rent for a year?!"

I stand up abruptly and point a finger in her face, "At least I HAVE ambition to live in a place thats better looking then that HOVEL you and your BOYFRIEND share!"

She scowls and slaps my hand away to jab a finger into my armored chest, "HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND HE'S A GUY THAT HAPPENS TO BE MY BEST FRIEND!" She pushes me back. "And who are you to judge Mr. ANTI-SOCIAL!" She shouts.

I hold nothing back, "Oh YEAH?! Well at least I'm not a CRAZY CONTROL FREAK WITH A NARCISSISTIC ADDICTION TO OMNI-TOOLS!"

She slaps me across the face, "IT IS NOT AN ADDICTION!" I look back at her just in time to be tackled onto the coffee table. She yells as she flips me over and pushes my face into the cold metal surface, "APOLOGIZE YOU HO'LEK GRE'LIN TORISHIK BOSH'TET!"

She wrenches my arm behind my back painfully with her in-human strength, "GAH!" I scream in pain.

"APOLOGIZE!" Seila commands.

"FINE FINE! I APOLOGIZE NOW GET OFF ME BEFORE-" The coffee table collapses under our combined body weight and all the parts around us are tossed every-which-way as the thin metal bends around the two crates I kept under the table. "-that happens." I finish before sighing.

Seila lets go and backs up as I flip over and look up at her hand in my face, I grab it and she helps me stand up. We look around at the mess we made and stay quiet as we start to clean it up.

* * *

Ten minutes later we kick two boxes of spare scrap next to the bent pieces of what once was a cheep coffee table and sit down on the couch.

...

...

...

...

"So, uh..." I look at her as she breaks the awkward silence. "I-I'm sorry for the foot-res-"

"Coffee table" I correct.

She pauses to scowl at me for a moment, "Coffee table, I was just..." She lowers her head and wrings her hands nervously.

_Really really frustrated._

I hold her hands still with my own and she looks up at me, "It was an outburst, no-one got hurt, everything is fine. We were just stressed from trying to build the omni-tool and it all built up to us yelling at each-other to burn off steam, oh uhh... relieve stress." She nods slowly and I let go of her hands.

She nods as she looks over at the trashed coffee table. "I-It was an outburst, nothing more. Right. I'm sorry for, well, tackling you. Your not mad at me are you?" She starts wringing her wrists again as she looks back at me worriedly.

I laugh, "If I got angry at everyone who I've had a shouting match with I'd be one bitter nineteen year old."

She jumps back and blinks before asking, "You're only nineteen? I never thought you were that young! I mean you are a bit young, but I expected you to be in your mid twenties!"

I sigh and shake my head, "All the stress I've dealt with has aged me a bit faster then I'd like."

She stops wringing her hands and reaches into one of her pockets, "I-I found your omni-tool in the corner a-and thought you probably would still want it so-" I hold up a hand to stop her nervous babbling. I accept the omni-tool and slip it onto my left wrist before activating it. The blood-red display starts up and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

_I am SO glad this thing didn't blow up._

Seila seems to agree since I hear a content sigh come from her side of the couch. "Oh good, I thought I stepped on it when we were cleaning up! Thank Keelah that it works after all that crazy Del'ik that happened." I nod in agreement and she starts walking me through the menus so I knew how to sink it up to any new hardware I might encounter in the future. "Now tap the twelfth key on the second row and your done! You just installed LIA properly."

I smile at her brightly, "Thanks Seila, always nice to know a crazy Quarian that's good at tech."

She scoffs, "Not like knowing a psychologically insane Human who can hack anything!" She laughs as I blush from the half-compliment. She stands from her spot on the couch and stretches before turning towards the door, "Well, I'll see you later Scorpio, maybe next time we go out for lunch or something?"

I rush forward and open the apartment door as she walks out and wave to her as she walks down the hall. "Yeah, sure. Try not to break my coffee table next time!" She shakes her head and walks out of sight.

_She is one crazy chick._

I close and re-encrypt the door before looking down at my new omni-tool and smiling.

_This thing is going to be SO useful if I ever get into firefights._

Linking up my other omni-tool to the new one like Seila taught me, I download the Blood-red display into my other one and smirk at the duel holographic casings that covers my forearms.

_Yep, going to love this._

"Scorpio! It is interesting to note that you have been neglecting your messages since I was deactivated." I freeze up as i hear the voice.

I look down at my left omni-tool and smile at the familiar and emotionally excited voice, "LIA! I haven't been so happy to hear a VI's voice since I got into that car crash and had to talk to SIRI to get help." I state happily.

_It's truly been hell not being able to talk with her, it, whatever._

"I have no record of this other VI, would you mind if I made an inquiry?" LIA states calmly.

"Uh, sure I guess..." I say curiously, wondering what she could be asking about.

"What do you believe happens when we die?" LIA states with a calm curious seriousness.

I stop moving and think about the answer for a moment.

...

"Scorpio?" LIA asks, I open my mouth to reply, but nothing comes out.

...

_For some reason I just can't respond. I know how I feel about the subject, but I never really thought others would ask me about it._

"I... What do YOU think about the subject LIA?" I ask curiously.

"I do not, I am a simple VI." She/it replies.

"Really?" I asks, trying to wonder if the quiet inflection LIA gave when she/it spoke meant anything.

"Yes." LIA responds quietly, almost shyly.

...

_Well this is getting awkward._

"Scorpio, you have not told me your own opinion yet." She/it asks, still relatively quiet.

...

I take a seat on the couch, this was some heavy stuff, "I... I think that... people should choose what they believe in." I pause to collect my thoughts and I can feel LIA waiting patiently. "I personally think that their ability to choose is-"

"Scorpio?" LIA interrupts.

"Yes." I say, still wondering if LIA was developing a personality or not.

...

...

"LIA?"

...

"I have found eight people within forty meters of your location with the same views, do you want me to add their contact information?" LIA states happily. I stare at my omni-tool and blink for a moment.

_Ok, that was weird..._

"No. Merci LIA." I breath out in slight relief.

"Logging you out Scorpio." I sit back and think about what just happened.

_Oh man..._

I burst out laughing. "OH GOD! HAHAHAHAHAHA! I thought... HAHAHAHAHA!"

_Oh my god my sides are hurting!_

"HAHAHAHAHA-"

*BEEP*

I freeze and look down at my new omni-tool. "Scorpio, you have a new message." LIA states.

"Merci LIA" I opened the message to find...

_Ok, now I'm getting a bit angry._

It was the same exact message from this morning. I delete every message.

_It's the best I can do since I don't really want to block them until they do something else. This could just be a looping message like when someone tried to leave voice mail at my grandparents house and it kept resending the message eight times a day until they replaced the answering machine._

As soon as I delete the message I start feeling lightheaded and my vision starts to blur before refocusing on a hooded figure in front of me. "Gah!" I jump back in shock, and accidentally flip backwards off the couch and yelp before trying grab at my side for my pistol and find it not there. "Oh this is bad, oh this is not good!" I mutter in a panic as the figure started to approach slowly.

_Oh god this is confusing._

I grab my head as a bell rings loudly. "Get away!" I scream while slamming my eyes shut and shaking my head. I open them to see nothing there and the bell was gone.

_Ok, what the hell was that?!_

I rub my temples in aggravation.

_I really don't need these things to happen today!_

I growl angrily and leave the apartment while wondering what the hell that vision was all about.

_I'm not insane, I'm not insane, I'm not insane..._

I keep repeating it over and over as I lock the apartment door behind me and jog out through the lobby to find the attendant looking extremely depressed and alone, sobbing quietly to herself as she murmurs the simple question, "Why?", over and over again. I approach her and I notice a pool of tears forming on her desk.

_My freak-out can wait, she looks like hell._

Stopping my pace I ask softly, "Hey, are you alright?"

She looks up at me tiredly and sniffles a bit before closing her eyes tightly and cringing, "You heard me?" Her voice was quiet and broken.

I swallow as I feel her terrible sadness, "Yeah, you want to talk about it? Maybe go get some tea to clear your head?" She sniffles as a tear falls down her cheek and stands up.

She follows me, hunched over in her own mourning state as we head out the front door and up to my skycar. "Thanks." She says before climbing in and sitting comfortably in the passenger seat next to me.

I nod to her, "No problem, everyone needs some company when your in such a state, it helps to have someone who cares about you cheer you up." She nods reluctantly and sniffles again before slowly relaxing into the seat as the sky car speeds off towards a nearby café LIA chooses.

_I am tired as hell, confused as hell, and probably getting dangerous as hell, but I'm not leaving her to her own devices, not when I can help._

"So..." I try and break the ice. She looks at me cautiously, like I was extremely dangerous.

_Oh! I have the mask up!_

Setting the skycar to LIA's control I pull my mask down and let my hood fall back onto my shoulders and look at her as she stares at me silently. After a moment she sighs, "I don't know why I'm saying this, but my girlfriend and I just broke up." I nod my head in understanding. "She was so nice and cute, loving, and the sex! Oh goddess! She could blow my mind!" She smiles at the fond memories and I try to avoid blushing.

I turn and look her in the eye, "It's hard to lose someone you're so close to that you can't even fathom life without them at your side." As I say it my mind wanders to Liara and I internally shake my head.

_She doesn't like me like that._

A flash-memory of us walking on the beach runs through my mind and I smile slightly before re-focusing on the conversation. "Yeah, I never really thought about it, but I was ready to be her Bondmate!" She holds her head in her hands and cries.

_She's so vulnerable right now, I need to comfort her._

I am about to place a hand on her shoulder, but remembering the Extranet's translation of that gesture to Asarian I settle for hugging her gently for a short moment. Her crying sub-sides so I try and separate but she wraps her arms around me and snuggles into the groove of my neck. "I never thought I'd feel this alone again." She mutters.

Slightly uncomfortable I hold her as she calms herself. "It's alright." I whisper into her 'ear' as she relaxes into my arms and holds me tighter.

_Ok, this is getting a bit weird._

I freeze in panic as I feel her kiss a trail up my neck and towards my lips. Just before our lips meet my mind restarts and I pull away, leaving her confused and teary-eyed. "I'm sorry, I already have a girlfriend." I lie cautiously.

_No need to upset her anymore then she already is._

Surprisingly she just smirks, mischief twinkling in her deep-purple eyes, "Oh, alright, maybe I can join you?"

_What?!_

"What?" Oblivious to my absolute shock, she lays a hand on my leg and smiles deviously. I swallow in even more panic then before, "Uhh..."

_How do you answer something like that?!_

She leans towards me, forcing me to lean back until my head hits the driver-side door. She all but crawls over me until her face was mere inches from my own, "I can make it pleasurable..." Her vibrant violet eyes stare into my dark brown ones with a barely contained ferocity that reminds me of a wild animal.

_Think! What would your mother do if she caught you like this?! What would Mark say?!_

I finally find my voice as she moves in for the kiss. "I... uhh... don't want to be rude, but Liara and I aren't to that point in our relationship yet." I say truthfully.

She pauses in her advance and watches me for a moment before blushing and practically jumping off of me as if I was going to burn her, "Oh, um... I'm sorry, I just, I'm a Maiden so my, uh... hormones are raging like hell, and I'm really sorry!" She says in apology quickly.

She shies away and blushes violently as she continues to apologize until I raise my hand to stop her, "It's fine it's fine. I know what the stages do to young Asari."

She sighs and shifts awkwardly, "So... Liara T'soni?"

I nod at her, grateful for the change in subject, but worried about the new one, "Yeah, we hang out here and there. We haven't really talked about a relationship." She opens her mouth to respond, but before she can we land and the doors open to show the beautiful Thessian skyline.

I look down and see the bustling of the city below us as the café was on the twentieth floor of a hotel in the financial district. An attendant from the café offers to park my skycar but I wave her off and instruct LIA to do it instead. The attendant took a simple VI doing her job in stride and leads us inside.

I look around the standard-looking café, nothing too exciting. The decor mirroring the vibrant colors of the small plants that sat at every table.

_How quaint._

The waitress brings us to a table in the center of the room and we both order a cup of Asarian coffee.

I break the ice after sipping the beautifully sweet and bitter blend of black coffee and vanilla that was apparently a mild version of the native brew. "So how did you meet your girlfriend?" I ask.

She stirs her coffee and sighs before smiling, "She was actually standing behind you when you moved into the building. She and I had an instant connection."

_Oh, ok. That's about five days at the most. Really short for an Asari._

"Was it strange, being able to fall so deeply in love with someone so quickly?" I ask calmly.

She looks at me before looking away, "Yeah, it was fast, and wild, and... perfect." She sighs and goes back to stirring her coffee. "But now she's gone, because of me." Tears start to form in her eyes.

"You and her had sexual relations? How soon after meeting was this?" I ask as comfortingly as a person can manage with half a year of study under their belt.

She scowls at me, "We didn't have sex until last night!"

I hold up my hand calmly, "I did not mean to aggravate you, but you can see easily that this person was using you." I theorize.

She stares at me wide-eyed for a second before opening her mouth to speak and closing it sadly. She speaks in a soft voice, "Yes, I can see that, and she did. She took all of my credits and left."

"She stole not only your savings, but your heart as well." I say. She nods. "It isn't your fault then, it's hers. She chose to steal from you and you were just caught up in the moment. You did have fun though and that was what this person took advantage of. I suspect you have not been in many relationships before?" She nods again, looking a little bit curious. "You have a low experience in what having a true girlfriend or boyfriend is. You couldn't have known her intentions."

_This is seriously interesting, I'm using my skills at reading people to help her get over her break-up!_

She sips her coffee and takes a deep breath. "I don't want to be hurt like that ever again." She says quietly.

I smile, "If you get to know people before jumping into bed with them, say four or five dates, then you can minimize your chances of being robbed of your emotions and cash."

She blinks before sighing and finishing off her coffee. "Thanks, umm... I don't know your name." She says while looking at me expectantly.

I look further into her eyes to see her sadness brought under control and her natural curiosity blooming once again, "I'm Scorpio, and you are?"

I make a subtle hand gesture to direct the question at her and she smiles, "I'm Neril," My whole body tenses and I try to avoid letting it show on my face. "Nice to meet you Scorpio, but I need to get back to work." She stands and I quietly wave goodbye as she walks out the door.

_Oh god._

I flag down the waitress, "Hey, did you see me with another person just a few minutes ago? Did I arrive with anyone?" I ask worriedly.

She stares at me like I'm insane before saying, "Yeah, pretty, young, attractive Asari Maiden with deep Purple eyes. She ordered a Thessian coffee and so did you."

I breath a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, here for your trouble." I pull out a chit and load a hundred credits onto it before handing it to her.

Her eyes brighten up and she kisses me on the cheek before saying, "Come back anytime honey." I naturally cough before paying the twenty credit bill while failing at hiding my blush as she clears the table and walks away.

_I need to get back home._

Turning towards the exit I blink for a second.

_Wait... is that, Liara?_

I walk up to her and she smiles slightly as she notices me, "Hello Scorpio, what are you doing here?" She asks, her hands already fidgeting.

I smile back and say, "Not much, just getting a cup of coffee, you?"

She blinks before looking around, seemingly lost. "I am not so sure anymore, I was coming to make up to Shiala through buying her favorite cup of coffee, but now that I am here I am unsure whether it is a good idea or not."

I blink for a moment before remembering how Shiala usually went out with Liara during her birthday dinners to cheer her up. "Oh, ok. Do you require assistance?" I ask.

She looks at me for a moment before sighing, "I- no no I do not require assistant in this matter, although now that you are here I wish to tell you something." She gestures for us to sit and we do, at the same table as I did before.

_I wonder what this is about._

"I h-have not heard from you for a while. I was wondering if you were alright?" Liara says nervously, her eyes darting around the room.

_She's also a nervous wreck in public._

I forcibly stop my leg from idling. "I'm sorry, I haven't had too much time to myself over the past few days. You want to hang out now?" I ask carefully.

Her eyes widen in what I would assume shock, "I-I don't know, yes?" I could see her hands fidgeting in her lap as she turns her head left and right, eying the other patrons nervously.

_Huh, paranoid as well, it's like we're a perfect match._

I carefully holster the armed pistol I had under my left thigh in precaution and steady my breathing, "So what did you want to talk about?" I ask calmly.

She stops looking around and starts to relax, "Oh, nothing really important. I'm fine. I'm just worried, the news says that the _Eclipse Mercenary Group_ are pushing to build a front for illegal weapons tech on Thessia."

I raise my eyebrows and look at her in surprise, "Really? Huh, that's not good." Her head nods in agreement as she looks at the table and shifts uncomfortably.

*beep*

She jumps at the noise and I raise a hand to calm her before checking my omni-tool for the new message.

_I know I'm jumpy but man is she on edge today._

It was that same message from the Unknown sender again. I shake my head tiredly, "Liara I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take this outside for a moment."

She blinks and her eyes dart around the room before she whispers that it's fine and starts twiddling her fingers on-top of the table.

_If it was fine I wouldn't be having hallucinations everything other day._

Walking outside I lean against the building and delete the message, half expecting another hallucination to pop up at that moment. When nothing happens I sigh in relief and turn to walk back inside only to nearly walk into Liara as she practically dashes through the still open door.

I grab hold of her to keep both of us from kissing the sidewalk and she gasps loudly before looking directly into my eyes.

_Huh, we're the same height, how have I never noticed that before?_

"I-I have a meeting a-and need t-to get to it at the University, so I-I need to go." She stutters out the response in her shocked state.

"That's fine, how about we reschedule for Saturday? After my first class at AAH?" I say, a bit hopeful.

Her arms held onto my own as a smile creases her worried features. "Ok, just be careful."

We let go and her hands immediately started wringing her wrists nervously so I covered her hands with my own to stop them, "Don't worry Liara, I'll be fine." I say comfortingly.

She visibly relaxes to my touch and becomes more rigid when I let go. "Wait, I... I think I like you, as a friend!"

_What?_

She cringes at her sudden outburst and lowers her head in what looks like shame.

I watch her for a moment in surprise before lifting her chin up to I could look her in the eyes, "I... I think we're a bit out of our element." I say plainly as I let go.

Liara smiles as a light blush creeps up her neck, "I have never met anyone like you Scorpio. Oh, I am keeping you from your coffee, my apologies." I wave her concern aside and follow her to her taxi before waving to her as the skycar took off towards what I would assume is the University of Serrice.

_I don't know how or why, but every time I'm around her I just feel right, calm, collected..._

I rub my eyes tiredly and barely stifle a yawn before walking back inside and sitting back at my table.

_I didn't sleep at all, I should go take a nap after another coffee._

"Waiter!" Half the patrons stop what they're doing to turn and look at me strangely so I lower my hand and try to escape my terrible blush from under my hood and mask.

_Ok, I'm REALLY tired if I just called out for a waiter inside a coffee shop on Thessia, in the Mass Effect Universe.  
_

I pick up the electronic menu on my omni-tool and order again before leaning back and closing my eyes for a few winks of sleep.

* * *

**Fires melting flesh from bone, a hundred screams echo from the incinerators only to be muffled out by the Batarian's insane laughter. I scream at him and try to attack only to find myself restrained. "I'll kill you!" I heard myself shout, but it wasn't my voice. It was dead and full of rage.**

* * *

*GASP* I yelp awake and notice my coffee was slammed onto the table by an annoyed Asari waitress. "Sleep on your own time!" She growls before turning towards a family that just arrived and welcoming them politely.

_Bitch I liked the other one better._

I shake my head clear of the short nightmare and pound back the coffee, ignoring how it burned all the way down as I stormed out of the Café while tossing a credit chit at her and saying an abrupt _thank you._

I don't hear her reply as I jump into my skycar that LIA brought back from parking and take off towards the shooting range.

_I need loud, random noises to wake me up. God, why do I keep dreaming of slavers and death! It's getting annoying!_

I sigh and shake my head before giving LIA the controls as usual and sitting back to relax for a bit.

_I need to meditate more often, this is getting worse the longer I stay here._

*BEEP* "You have arrived at your destination Scorpio." I look up and I don't recognize the building my skycar was pulled up to.

_What the hell?_

Checking the address I froze. 453 Strip-drawn dr. Armali, Thessia.

"Oh shit-" Something hit me on the back of the head and I black out.

* * *

_**"You are mine now Scorpio... You can't run..."**_

_I turn around and around but I can't see anything but pure darkness. "I'm not running!" I shout at the voice._

**_"YOU LIE!"_**

_A loud screeching blasts at my ears, forcing me to fall to my knees in pain as I cover my ears..._

* * *

"AHHHH!" I scream out in pain from what feels like my arm being ripped from my body. I look involuntarily at it to find it broken and the pain abruptly stops from what I can sense as adrenaline rushing through my veins.

"Are you ready to talk now?" A sharp voice says right in my ear as I pant in my huddled position.

I start shaking in fear as I stand up, "Whoever you are I'll comply, just ask me and I'll answer to the best of my ability." The words aren't mine, it wasn't with my voice, it sounded like a Turian's. I tell my body to move and I can't, I'm rooted to the floor.

"Good..." I could hear the smile in his voice. He sounds like he's enjoying this. "Now where are my shipments?" My head whips around to him in shock and I see his face, blood-red with faded white stripes going down from his horns to his lips. He's a Salarian. He slaps me and I groan in pain for some reason. "Speak!" He orders.

"I don't know, please!" The Salarian punches my head, throwing me to the floor. I heard a distinct click and turned onto my back to see the barrel of a gun for a split second before a flash.

Everything goes white, then dips back into the impenetrable darkness...

* * *

I open my eyes and I look around to see I was still in my skycar at the address, but with a piercing headache.

*BANG*

I jump from the sound of a gunshot and look over to see shadows inside the building to the left of the address, an apartment building.

_No..._

I dash out of my skycar and draw the pistol that I don't even remember bringing with me before crouching under a broken window. I listen to a conversation inside. "There, that's another body for the pile, I need a drink." It was the voice from my vision.

"Fuck!" I mutter quietly to myself.

_What the hell is happening to me? Ok, I think I've asked myself that question over a hundred times in the past five days, I should just stop._

Another gunshot hits my eardrums and I cautiously peek inside to see a Blue Suns trooper fall to the ground, dead. I scan the room quickly and see seven others in a pile in the corner, all dead, including a few Turians.

_What the hell is going on?!_

The Salarian from my vision walks out of the shadows wearing Eclipse armor. I blink before ducking out of view and remembering something Liara said about Eclipse moving in on Thessia for weapon smuggling.

_Oh fuck! Ok, so think! Think!_

I keep remembering the Salarian say _shipment_ and I realize something.

_Oh shit, I seriously hope they aren't talking about the shipment I blew up. No no that was purely Blue-Suns territory, no way they're connected._

In a panic I quickly rush over to my skycar and send a quick message to Rila at APC about the address before flooring it out of there.

"Why, why in all of Thessia did my vision bring me there?! I'm not ready to kill people out of no-where! I'm not even that good an aim with a pistol!" I shout out loud to voice my frustration as I let LIA direct the skycar to go back to my apartment building and let myself mull over what just happened.

_I'm going insane, I'm going insane, I'm going insane..._

*beep* "Scorpio, you have a new message." Lia states in her synthetic chipper mood. I check it, grateful for the distraction and cringe at the familiar Unknown sender.

_What the hell do they want from me?!_

I scroll down and the only thing the message said was, "Your welcome." I scowl at the message and delete it. "Assholes. I'm not ready for any of this! I can't fight mercs, I can barely keep myself sane anymore!" I yell in exasperation at my situation.

_I can't, I just can't deal with any more of this! I'm not an assassin, I'm not a murderer, I'm not even from this freaking universe!_

When I land in the parking lot of my building I get out, walk past the smiling attendant as she waves at me, unlock and re-lock my door, and fall onto my couch in exhaustion from my long as hell day.

_Just a few hours of rest, thats all I'm asking for. No death, no destruction, no weird hallucinations, please..._

I don't even change out of my armor before I roll over and finally let myself pass out.

* * *

A/N I've got nothing to say but, what would you do in his situation? You know, going insane, seeing people before meeting them, such and such. :)


	10. What is Sanity?

A/N Three months in and nowhere to go but forward. Time's funny like that.

Sorry about the late wait I watched a youtuber do a Silent Hill play-through and decided to get all the games and movies to keep myself occupied and lost track of time. Then before I knew it it was already June and I needed to finally get my wisdom teeth pulled out. (It went fine, but I'm currently hyped up on Vicodin so I have no idea.) Bad timing and all that. If you don't know what Silent Hill is then the first part of this chapter will seem absolutely disgusting to some and weird to others. If you already know and/or have played one of the Silent Hill's before then enjoy what my sick and twisted mind can make after eight straight days without sleep and a continuous dose of narcotics. :)

Read Review and Enjoy the Bloodshed.

(Caution this next part is why this story was rated M, proceed at your own risk. *Creepy Smile*)

* * *

I scream, there's nothing else I can do. I'm being chased by a monster, something so horrific and disturbing that one look at its mangled face made my blood run cold. Stumbling around in the darkness I trip and fall into a pool of-

"OH FUCK!"

I nearly jump out of my skin as I see the dead and rotting eyes of someone who probably tripped like I just did and never got back up sitting in a pool of blood. I slip and splash into the thick substance.

_Son of a bitch..._

I look up and nearly scream as I find the origins of the amputated eyes. The bleeding severed head staring back at me strikes enough fear into my heart to push me out of the way of a falling ax. It slams into the metal floor and clangs loudly, accompanied be the blood-curdling scream from the monster.

"AHHH!" I let myself scream while shaking my head from the intense pain the high-pitched scream sharply stabbed into my skull. The monster seems to laugh sickeningly at my staggering steps and slowly approaches my crouched form as my head finally clears.

_Have to run._

I grab at a conveniently placed table leg next to me and turn around to block, the ax chops right through the hardwood with ease and slams into the floor just below my crouch. In a panic I chuck the remaining shards of wood into the face of the monstrosity. It screams out at the sudden retaliation and I use the moment to turn tail and bolt down a hallway.

_Have to run, have to hide._

I pull at the door handles down the next hall, trying to find one that was unlocked.

_Come on, come on, come on!_

I nearly cry in relief as the eighth door handle turns. I carefully close it behind me and look around in the darkness to find something to block the door. I see a bookcase not too large to push and throw off the books before quickly pushing it into place just in font of the door. Just as I do the monster bangs against the door in force. "Fuck!" I curse as I see the cheap wood start to splinter under the intense force.

I turn back to the darkness and freeze as I come face-to-face with an even more terrifying sight. The ten-foot tall, thin, bloody mesh of sown together flesh and body parts stands there, its half-severed head hanging to one side as his short left arm unsheathed a large knife and the other longer than needed right arm picked up a corpse. I shake as my mind tries to understand what it was. It raises the corpse over its head with the intension to use it to smash me and as it comes down I dove under its massive legs and cringe as I hear the explosion of gore the corpse became as it destroyed the bookshelf blocking the door.

_No..._

I feel a crunch and scream out as pain shoots up my leg. "AH!" I turn over and see the first monster's sharp spiky leg stabbed through my leg, pinning my to the floor. I look up at the mangled, fleshy face and swallow as it raises it's bloody ax for the final blow.

**_nes seelon se ill..._**

I close my eyes and I see a strange face to match the words before my head hits the floor and all thought is thrown into disarray...

* * *

*gasp* I sit up while looking around in a panic before calming slightly as I see I'm back in my apartment. I rub my eyes as the last bits of the nightmare still linger in my thoughts, "What the hell was all that? It all seemed so... strange." I keep my eyes closed and feel a strange feeling wash over me as I remember the disgusting monster's face.

_Haven't I seen that before?_

I sigh tiredly and try to think about what it all meant, but beyond the strange feeling I can't remember a thing about it.

_It seemed so real, creepy but real._

Opening my eyes I blink in slight confusion as I find the entire apartment is colored different shades of gray.

_What the hell?_

I stand up off of the couch. "Are you alright?" I jump in fright and look behind me to find Neril sitting there, staring at me.

"Wa-what? How did you-?" I stop as I find a shadow walking into my door and disappearing. "Did you see that?" I ask while pointing at the door.

Neril looks over her shoulder for a second, "See what?"

I blink at the door for a second, "Nothing nothing, but how did you get in here?" I ask while sitting down next to her.

She smiles for a second before a look of concern crosses her face, "I heard you screaming and decided to come see if you were alright." I blink at her.

_What screaming? Was I screaming?_

"Uh... it was nothing, just a night terror." I wait a second for the strange word to translate and Neril's face seems to twitch into a small smile before resembling shock.

_I'm getting uncomfortable here._

I watch her stare at me strangely and I feel... something. Something bad radiating off of her. Before I can ask her to leave she stands and quickly walks out the door. I run up to it and the metal slams shut. I blink as the perfect, clean, metal is replaced by improvised pieces of metal welded together in a hurry. I stare at it in confusion before a slat opens up about eye level and I can see bloodshot eyes glowing with hatred staring back at me.

"It will be alright, *WHEEZE*, Scorpio." The person's voice is deep and dark, barely making it through what sounds like a breather mask of some kind.

"What are you-?" The metal slat is slammed shut, cutting off my sentence.

I turn around and grab my head as a sharp pounding assaults my ears along with a sharp metallic screeching. The screeching stops and I grit my teeth in pain at the resounding pounding. The apartment seems to shift and bend until it starts bleeding in color, literally. I freeze as the slow drips of what looks like blood run down the walls, painting them dark red.

_What the fuck is happening?!_

I feel something drip onto my nose and wipe it off to find it's blood. I look up and stagger in shock as dozens of bloody severed limps come into my vision. "WHAT THE FUCK!" The flesh of arms and legs and... heads... crack and split before my eyes and the drippings of blood turn into streams. I shuffle back against the door as the room quickly starts to fill with the thick dark liquid life. Shivers of disgust and that weird feeling from before rush through my body and I can't decide whether to scream out in insanity or hilarity.

_What the hell is happening to me._

I slip in the now waist-high liquid and fall under. I shut my eyes tight and quickly resurface to cough and spit out the blood that I swallowed.

_No, no I'm not insane._

I shake my head as the blood reaches neck level.

_I'm not insane, this is not real..._

I hold my breath as the foul blood covers my mouth and nose.

_Not-_

I cough from the lack of air as the room finally fills up completely.

_..._

I'm suffocating as the think red and black liquid fills my lungs, floods my stomach, and I have to open my eyes to look for a way out.

_I..._

My heart skips a beat and my head feels too heavy, the life slowly bleeds away from me and I finally suffocate.

_..._

All functions stop, my arms stop, my heart stops, my legs organs and control stops. All that's left is my thoughts, my drifting, dying thoughts about how calm and peaceful it all was.

_..._

A thought crosses my mind, I find the word for what I felt around the monsters, around Neril, when I first saw the altar that brought me to this universe, now...

_Death..._

The last thought bleeds away and I fall into oblivion...

* * *

"I've never been to the ocean... ocean... ocean... ocean... Blood, so much blood... blood... blood... I just want to dive in and take a nice chunky gulp before the end..."

_..._

I groan in intense pain as my blurry vision starts to focus. I can hear a quiet rustling and booming and the resulting orange lightning strikes in the blackness I'm staring at tells me it's storming, but it isn't raining. I go to speak and a hand covers my mouth. "Shh..." I keep my eyes shut tight as I feel the person's cold, weak breath wetly cover my face.

_This is disgusting._

The pointed fingers cover and press gently on my eyelids and mouth, causing me to freak out just a little bit more. I can feel something crack and a thin liquid starts running down the sides of my face. "It will be over soon..." The strangely calming voice states.

_I'm not-_

I have to grit my teeth to hold back my scream as I feel a sharp object pierce the skin on my leg. "Yes, your nectar is pure." I cringe and nearly gag as I feel someone sucking the blood off of the wound. I let out a muffled cry of anger and panic.

_I'm not becoming a science experiment!_

I feel someone pull me into a sitting position and wrap something that felt like a sheet around me as I realized I was freezing. I sit there shivering, not daring to open my eyes after the person pulls their hand off of my face.

_It's just a nightmare, just a nightmare, it can't hurt me._

I open my eyes and stare in awe as my sight is filled with a sea of blood, the thick red liquid swirling and shifting in waves towards the beach I'm sitting at. I let my vision clear up and I notice corpses, dismembered corpses floating along the shore and in the water. One gets devoured in a flash by a creature that seems impossibly horrific. "Oh how I love the smell of iron in the morning." I freeze and look to my left to find an Asari, only her skin was gray and cracked, sluggish in some areas and missing in others.

_Wha-?_

She turns to me and I hold back a scream as I find half of her face ripped to shreds. "What are you!" I yelp in panic.

She immediately covers my mouth with a wrinkled, cracked, and still bleeding hand missing a finger, "SHH! Be fucking quiet or the Screamers will notice us!" She whispers urgently.

I nod on impulse just to get her hand off of my face. She retracts it and I sigh in relief before pulling the sheet closer to ward off my shivering. "Where am I?" I ask quietly as I realize the landscape was barren, dead, or rotting.

She jumps to me and I feel her cracked and fleshy lips split disgustingly against my own in a rotting kiss. I hold back my gag and push her off before dry-heaving onto the ground.

_Oh god, I.. I'm going to be sick..._

I take a deep breath and swallow down the acidic blob I nearly threw up, "What the fuck was that!" I shout, forgetting about her warning, she frowns at me and I pull the sheet closer to try and hide from her glare. The sheet cracks and I look down and nearly scream as I realize the sheet was woven together sheets and pieces of skin and flesh. Tossing the disgusting thing away I hug myself tight and start rocking back and forth, freaking the hell out.

_I'm insane, this is shit! I'm insane, I'm not home and I'm going to die..._

I'm about to start pleading for any god to save me when a hand holds me still, I fell my shirt get stained by her blood as I wearily look up into her-

_Oh FUCK!_

I stare in shock at the rotting version of Neril and watch as her gory face splits slightly as she smiles comfortingly at me. I shiver at the sight. "N-Neril?" She nods and I swallow nervously.

_I'm insane, I'm insane, I'm insane, I'm insane, I'm insane..._

I feel her hug me, and my shirt get soaked by her blood, "Welcome home Scorpio." She says happily, I whimper.

_Not... home... insane... blood, death... insane..._

I push her off of me as my mind continues to crack, "What the fuck are you talking about?!" I whisper urgently.

She stands and smiles as she looks out towards the bloody sea, "You are home Scorpio, your place of origin, beginning, etc. You have returned to your place of birth."

_Insanity=This_

"What the hell? What do you mean? I'm not-" I stop as I hear a sharp scream in the distance that forces me to freeze in fear.

Neril looks out worriedly before sighing and scratching a line of flesh off of her arm nervously, "Your mind was... I'm not sure of the word, but you began here and left when you were deemed too dangerous to the realm."

"Cast out? I was cast out?" I ask desperately, trying to make sense of what the fuck was happening.

She nods as she smiles at me, her vibrant eyes glowing with... something. "My my it seems we already understand each other."

I shake my head clear as the screaming starts becoming more acute. "Why am I here? What IS here?" I ask quietly, trying to keep myself from panicking as the smell of burning sulfur and iron assaults my senses.

She sighs tiredly and crosses her arms over her fleshy chest, "You are a rare and powerful individual, I knew it the first time I laid eyes of you and I felt it when I touched you. Deep, untapped, power." She smiles deviously, "It was intoxicating, so intoxicating... I NEEDED more, so much more to taste, to cut open and savor forever..." I gulp. "There is nothing more pleasing than seeing someone's life being devoured slowly, painfully." She turns to look at me directly. "You know what I mean do you not?"

I jerk back in slight disgust, "No, I don't." I say curtly.

She pounds her foot angrily and I cringe as I FEEL her foot crack and see the resulting wound fester instantly, "You know exactly what happened! You were there! You know how satisfying it feels!" She shouts accusingly.

_This isn't good._

"Calm down!" I plead quietly, hearing the screams start to rapidly approach. She covers her mouth and stares fearfully into the dark night. We hear the screams intensify for a moment before fading away into the distance. We sigh in relief.

"You might have forgotten." I jump back as her hand grips at my throat. "I'll make you remember..." Her eyes go black and i can feel a sharp presence in the back of my head, prodding carefully.

_No..._

The sharp stab is instant and I have to push back against it by throwing all of my concentration directly onto it. I feel the dark, black, slithering feeling get encased by itself and I feel a scream inside my head before the feeling dissipates and retreats instantly. Falling to my knees I pant from the exertion. "What the fuck was that?" I cough up some blood and ignore it as I watch Neril stagger back and shake her head in intense pain.

"What the hell did you do to me!" She shouts as I feel whispers of darkness surround us. She screams out and I take a step forward as she huddles on the ground, bleeding profusely.

_What-_

Without thought I grab at her and throw her to the ground before straddling her still screaming form and gripping her throat. I feel a grasp of reality shift and I hear myself whisper something oblivious and strange. All the darkness around us ends and I gasp for air while rolling off of her.

_I..._

Coughing violently, we regain our composure and she turns to me as we lay there, staring up at the blackened sky, "You are amazing Kerik." She breaths.

I blink and swallow some of my own blood before looking at her in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

She smirks wickedly and I can see her skin start to fold itself back together. "You have a gift and it was so... pleasurable." I stare at her as she giggles in hilarity.

_What is she talking about?_

I sharply turn my head to the left as a whisper catches my ear, "What the-?" A slight pounding hits my ears as a disgusting wave of fresh blood splashes across the beach from the red ocean.

We sit up and she hands me something, I don't look at it, for some reason I know what it is already. "You and I are going to get along very very well here."

"I don't belong here." I say out of impulse.

"I know Kerik, but you won't be able to escape Acerbus Infinium forever, you are already going mad in the third realm." She quips.

I run my hand over my face to wipe off some warm blood that splashed from the ocean, "I am not even sure what the fuck any of this is, or whether or not I'm actually just insane or hallucinating."

Neril cups my cheek with a mending, bony hand and smiles, "You are not one of the Third realm Kerik, please accept my offer, I'll see you in your dreams..."

She walks away and the darkness encases around me, "I'm not Kerik!" I shout as I hear a scream from right behind me. Turning, I look up and freeze in complete and utter fear, "Screamers..." I gasp as the floating mesh of stitched flesh and blood grabbing out with it's tendrils and wraps of skin, I kick and resist as it immobilizes me with another scream from it's wide, black hole. I see a flash of red and all senses escape me...

* * *

My eyes shoot open in panic as the last of the dream slips from my mind. Gripping my head, I slowly sit up from the couch.

_What the hell is wrong with me? These are getting really really vivid._

The room starts spinning violently, "I think I'm going to throw up." Hopping off of the couch, I run into the bathroom just in time to dry-heave into the sink. "Oh man do I feel terrible." I dry heave again and turn on the faucet to sip some water as the room stops spinning for a moment.

_Oh man do I feel terrible._

I look down as I feel something in my pocket and pull out a medallion I've never seen before. "What the hell..."

I feel the darkness in the rusty and stained object, the sear-like spokes pushing out from every corner of the circle of black metal, It seemed to swirl with a strange sensation of fear and insanity and as I run a finger along the black swirling surface I can see something appear inside, just for a moment I think I see Neril before it dissipates back into the darkness. "How did I get this?"

Strange symbols glow deep red around the ring of the medallion, it seems to be alive and wanting something. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I look at myself in the mirror and terror runs through my veins. I see a man, broken and weary, worry and stress outlined in the deep lines on his face, adding at least twenty years to his age, and a glint of fire-red in his pupils. "What the hell?" I shake my head in fear as I drop the medallion into the floor with a clang.

When I look again I'm back to my normal nineteen-year-old self. No demonic eyes, no edged worry of an old man. "This is getting really bad." I mumble to myself as I splash my face with a handful of cool water. I find small bleeding pricks on my palms and blink before looking down at the now bloody medallion spinning slowly right next to my right foot. "What does this mean?" I ask myself as I pick up the artifact and wash the blood off it and my hands. It glows slightly before the spikes sheath back into the center and it stops spinning. Sighing tiredly I pocket it for later and take in a deep, calming breath.

_My future is my own choice, I am but a servant of fate, but I am my own man._

Nodding at my own words I turn the water off and wipe my face with a towel before applying a salve to the pin pricks on my palms and walking back into the living-room/bedroom.

_I can't get back to sleep after that. Not in a million years.  
_

Looking down at myself I decide to change and check my messages while I do so. "LIA do I have any messages?"

"You do not Scorpio, although it is disconcerting how infrequently you gain a full night's sleep." She responds quietly.

_Nothing? Well at least for now 'D' is leaving me alone. Wait... is LIA concerned?  
_

I slip on my regular clothes and walk into the kitchen in my socks to try and find something to change my depressed mood.

_I witnessed a mass murder yesterday, I think I have the right to just stay home today._

"LIA are you alright?" I ask before sighing as I find the only thing appetizing in my fridge was a half-empty bottle of Tupari and some Varren meat I bought as emergency food.

_Well sure I guess._

"I am fully functional Scorpio, I was simply admitting the health hazard of not obtaining a full night's rest after witnessing a stressful situation." LIA responds softly with synthesized concern. I throw it in a pan with some herbs I bought that were expensive and imported from Earth before throwing it into the-

_What the hell is this thing even called?! Oven, lets just go with oven._

"Yeah, alright LIA." I mutter before leaning back against the counter and closing my eyes as I take a deep breath, just trying to get my thoughts to stop running like crazy from all the crazy crap I've had to deal with this past week...

* * *

*BEEP*

I open my eyes instantly to stare at the oven in surprise before blinking and looking at the time on my omni-tool.

_I fell asleep for two hours?_

Trying to wrap my head around how I fell asleep standing-

*BEEP*

...

"Oh! Ok, need to take the food out of the oven, right, right." I state to no-one in particular. I open up the oven door and before I can think through what I'm doing, I grab onto the pan and lift it out of the oven. I pause as I set it on the counter and look at my hands as they hold the metal pan.

...

_Uhh... nothing is happening? That's strange, did I even turn the oven on?_

I look at the history via omni-tool and it had run the two hour cycle.

_Huh._

I shake my head and shelve the incident for later while I slice up the meat and plate it before dumping the rest of the Tupari into a wine glass and adding an ice cube.

_This is probably the weirdest thing I've prepared since I tried to make sushi at home one afternoon._

I cringe as I remember the sticky mess that ensued and shake my head clear of the disgusting thoughts.

_I know a lot of people like sushi, I'm one of them, but preparing it is disgusting._

Cutting into the medium Varren, I wonder if the universal standard holds for all meat products. Popping the chunk of perfectly cooked Varren leg into my mouth I hum as I savor it.

_Huh, I guess the standard holds... it tastes like seasoned chicken._

I internally laugh at the strange similarity in texture and taste to KFC's chicken, seasoning and all. "Oh, man I have got to find out if they lasted this long, I seriously doubt it, but at least I have a good substitute." I happily pop another chunk into my mouth before sipping some Tupari and calling up my omni-tool, "LIA whats my schedule look like?"

"You have connected your account to the Galactic Stock Trading Center, would you like me to give you updates on your stocks?" LIA asks politely.

I stop eating and swallow, "Yes LIA, connect them and give me status updates once a day or whenever I ask."

...

"Done, your stock portfolio has risen .3% within the last twenty-four hours, also your schedule seems empty except for your request to search for the Justicar's Code." LIA states in false peace.

"Thank you LIA."

"Logging you out Scorpio." She/it says.

I stare at my omni-tool for a moment, wondering what was with her lately before finishing up the slice of Varren and drinking the last of the Tupari.

_Maybe it's the upgrade Seila gave her, she did say she gave LIA some emotion algorithms or something._

As I clean out the pan and my plate in the kitchen sink my mind starts to wonder from lack of stimulation and my thoughts land on the future. I wonder how I was ever going to be able to stop trained Batarian assassins from killing Irikah.

_I don't even know if I CAN save Irikah yet. First I have to find her._

I think about the pain that Thane and Kolyat must have felt when Irikah died in the game and sigh in frustration at not seeing a way to stop it.

"Are you alright Scorpio?" I look down and stare at my omni-tool in shock.

_Did... that sounded like... is LIA showing genuine concern?_

I blink at the blood-red display for a few seconds before clearing my throat, "Uhh, yeah, just fine LIA. I was just stressing about something that isn't going to happen for a few more years so... yeah, it's illogical."

"Thank you for telling me Scorpio." LIA responds in a strangely comforting voice.

_This is getting weird._

I turn off the faucet and wipe my hands off on a towel.

_Lets see what I can do today..._

I turn around and walk into the living room, my eye catches the light shining off of the bent and ruined coffee table.

_Hmm..._

I look at my weapon's cases and think about something.

_I wonder if I can manufacture a few mods from the blueprints I scanned from Seila's weapons._

"LIA? Can I use my wrecked metal coffee table as material for some weapon mods?" I ask, my mind still running about the implications if I could.

"I would need a thorough scan before hypothesizing any further." I walk up the the bent inch-thick metal table and run my omni-tool over it slowly, letting LIA get a good reading of it. "It is possible, although it is advisable that the scrap be melded with omni-gel in the manufacturing process to avoid malfunctions in the mod you wish to create. Also some mods require rare materials not found within this coffee table that need to be acquired and implemented to properly run the modification."

I smile brightly, "Thank you LIA."

_Oh this is going to be interesting._

Pulling the lightweight table to the center of the room, I open up the first mod I scanned and start figuring out how to make it with my mini-fabricators.

* * *

Soldering the final touches on the shredder mod for Seila's pistol, I hold it up to the light to see the edge was perfect and the mechanism was spotless in design.

_Now that's what I like to see._

I place it down next to me on the couch, separate from where all my failed attempts at recreating the mod lay in a pile of scrap metal. I stretch my arms and crack my back before looking over at the half-used bent coffee table and noticing something. I scratch my stubble and watch the metal slab in front of me intently, trying to get at its secrets before it hits me and I snap my fingers. "If I get a good source of metal and a few Quarian pilgrims to work with me for a share of the profit I could open up a weapons supplier company!" I smile wide as all the pieces start coming together.

I could talk to Seila to get in touch with the Quarians, Rila for a recommendation to supply the APC with better weapons, and use the good publicity created regarding the unemployed to get a steady supply of workers who need a way to pay the bills! Its perfect!

I quickly brush off the scrap into a crate and take the finished mod and scan it for defects. "I can find no discernible defects with the design Scorpio, I would like to note that the mod seems perfectly crafted." LIA states.

_I know, I'm a perfectionist._

"Thanks LIA." I say while blushing at the compliment.

_She's a VI, not a real person._

I shake my blush off and start to draw up a business plan for Seila and Rila on an interactive setting of my holo-projector.

* * *

"Ok Seila, I'll get back to you after I speak to my contact in APC." I say while trying to avoid smiling like an idiot at my plan coming together.

Seila nods excitedly at me over the video call, "I'll talk to the others and see if I can't convince them to trust an alien." She ends the call and I finally let the smile through.

_Everything is coming together._

I look back to my detailed business plan on the holo-projector to redo a few figures according to Seila's knowledge of the current amount of available scrap and metallic waste in the local industrial complexes. I finish the calculation and am surprised that the profit margin is around 40 credits a mod after costs.

_That's what I like to see, a nice little profit keeps everyone happy._

I save the plan onto an OSD and hide it in one of my weapon cases.

Seila was pretty ecstatic about the entire thing, I admit I was skeptical when I first told her and she said as much. I hope this works out, I already invested twenty thousand credits into the materials and a warehouse for it all.

I yawn tiredly and look at the time to find it was almost midnight.

_I should get some sleep and just call Rila in the morning._

I let the couch fold out while I change.

_Huh, I just had a normal and uneventful day today. Pretty nice._

I throw on the sheets and lay down before getting comfortable and turning out the lights. The sinister allure of sleep slowly creeps into my mind and I drif-

*beep*

My eyes fly open. "Scorpio you have a new message." LIA states apologetically.

I groan angrily before sitting out of be and checking the message. My eyes widen from the content and my heartbeat doubles. "Oh shit!" I yell before jumping out of bed and fumbling with my armor. "Shit shit shit!"

"Scorpio is everything alright?" I ignore LIA and slip on the rest of my armor quickly.

_HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME?!_

I run towards the door and quickly skid to a stop before turning around and grabbing my weapon. "LIA PULL THE CAR UP!" I jump out the door and run down the hall as fast as I can and ignore Neril as she tries to say hello before jumping into my skycar and punching the accelerator. "I hope I'm not too late."

* * *

Rila sighs for the hundredth time as she plays with the police radio on her cruiser. She isn't even listening to the coded chatter, her mind was still wandering from her lack of sleep.

_I haven't slept in four days._

She sighs as she remembers the culprit of her insomnia and she feels like crying.

_Every time I close my eyes I see his face... Scorpio._

Rila shakes her head and focuses on the beautiful night around her. The cool breeze wafting through her open window, the lights of the city blaring above her, the bustling of a city that never sleeps. She lowers her head as she feels another wave of home-sickness.

_I like the country more than all this. I want to see the stars again. I don't want to be alone here, dreaming about what Scorpio and I could be while counting the artificial stars I painted onto my bedroom ceiling to get to sleep at night._

She loved the night, she thrived at night. Rila closes her eyes and smiles at the fond memories of her mother and her dancing around outside at midnight, picking wildflowers and just letting the stresses of the day wash away.

_I miss her, so much, but I can't just pull her away from her job on the Citadel. She's too important. I just wish I saw her more often then our regular hour-long talks._

Rila's eyes widen as she notices its almost midnight and she lowers her head in sadness, she missed the window while sulking.

_She's going to get worried if I don't call her in the morning. I never miss one of our chats._

Rila looks off to the side and sees a skycar clip another one while passing. She shrugs, she needed more reason to pull someone over tonight.

She rubs her tired eyes and she cringes as she remembers Scorpio again.

_Damn it! Why can't I just forget him?! I'm never going to hear from him again!_

She bites her lower lip as her stomach tightens at the thought of never seeing him again. "What the Goddess is wrong with me?" She mutters while changing the station to listen to some music.

_I need to get him off my mind._

She stops on her favorite station and is shocked that "Lost Hearts" by Soris and Deril was playing.

"When everyone seems alright and you're so gone..."

She feels tears come to her eyes as the soft piano brings out the sadness in Soris' voice.

"When your love is right, but it feels so wrong..."

She just lost her Salarian husband to old age after he finished making the track for her to sing this song to. The chorus hits and a soft beat of rhythm tech and piano blend perfectly with Soris' amazing voice.

"Bright lights sing. Bright lights lean. Without this there is no us, without you I'm just as lost..."

Rila turns off the radio and she starts sobbing uncontrollably.

_I always cry when I hear that song, it's so sad, but now I can feel how deep it is!_

She slams her eyes shut and sniffles as her chest tightens. She always thought the song was about Deril's short life span, but now she knows it's about how painful it feels to lose someone you love.

_I- I can't, I just can't._

She shakes her head and takes a deep breath.

_Get a hold of yourself Rila! You have to stay strong!_

Rila breaths out her sadness and wipes her puffy eyes on her sleeve before turning the radio back to APC chatter. She focuses herself on the reports and sighs as she hears that nothing was happening around her route.

_With all the little things going on around here you'd think we'd be buried in paperwork, but at least the commissioner is doing something right with the politicians._

She hangs her arm out the window and wipes some rain off the smooth surface.

_I know I'm attracted to Scorpio, but I'm 153! I'm barely into my Maiden years!_

She remembers how her mother used to tell her she needed to get off of her omni-tool and socialize more.

_Hmph, she means finally lose my virginity. She thinks I'm crazy staying away from that kind of thing during my wild years. If these are supposed to be my wild years then why can't she see that I hate talking to people!_

She lays back into her seat and starts picking at her fingernails, a nervous habit of hers.

_I haven't even been on a date or asked anyone out before. How am i going to jump into bed with a stranger when I keep hearing about all these sick freaks that like to rape Asari girls?! I mean, Scorpio almost DIED saving a Matriarch's Daughter from being raped in an alley only two weeks ago!_

She smiles involuntarily as she remembers how brave Scorpio was and how brutal that Turian was murdered. She shakes her head as her stomach twists again.

_He's just someone I brought to the hospital, and stayed by his side for eight consecutive days, and who makes my nerves twitch when he looks at me._

She stops picking her fingernails.

_Oh Goddess, I have a crush on someone!_

"Reported: 439 in progress at the Community Center."

Rila jumps up out of her seat and hits her head on the ceiling before rubbing her crests painfully and answering the call, "This is Officer Rila, responding to the 439, I'm en-route." She activates her skycar and closes her window before flipping on the police sirens and lights.

_This is just what I need to get my mind off of Scorpio, a domestic dispute._

She floors it into traffic and laughs as she purposely pisses off a Volus by cutting him off, he honks at her and she resists the urge to throw a warp at his car just to see what he'd do. Her cruiser dives down and around a corner to park just outside the Community Center.

_Well, lets see how bad this gets._

She arms herself with her rifle and pistol before checking that her amp was working and running inside.

* * *

Scorpio's black skycar dove and swerved severely, trying to get the hell around all the midnight rush. He honks at a Volus trying to turn onto the airway and slams on his brakes as the Volus veers off to one side and smashes into a cargo transport before hanging his tiny arm out of the widow and flipping him off. Scorpio grinds his teeth and rolls the widow down before tossing a biotic throw at the Volus' car. It hits and Scorpio floors it past the spinning skycar.

"Why can't I just have a nice day in my life." Scorpio asks no-one as he gets stuck in bumper-to bumper traffic and slams his head into the holo-display in aggravation.

"Move it!" He honks his horn twice and then looks to his right to see the Volus' skycar flying at tremendous speeds towards his passenger side. "Oh shi-" The skycars impact and smash against all the others, causing a chain reaction that knocks nearly all the skycars out of the sky.

Scorpio pulls out his pistol and fires twice into the engine of the furious Volus' skycar and then proceeds to direct his skycar to crash just outside the Community Center.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK!" *CRASH*

* * *

"They're fighting in the main gym." The frightened Asari clerk says from her desk off to the side of the entrance.

Rila nods and quickly jogs down the hall and into a large room. "Get away from me you Bosh'tet!" Rila searches the room and quickly finds a massive Turian cornering a Quarian girl who looks to be typing on her omni-tool franticly.

Rila pulls out her pistol and aims it at the Turian, "Freeze, APC!" She frowns as she notices two other Quarians to her right to find two more Quarians hiding in the corner.

She scans the room and finds a crowd of Asari, Turians, and Batarians on the left, cheering the Massive Turian on.

"Gut the suit rat!"

"She isn't worth the time! Just shoot her!"

"Get her over here and I can crack open her mask with my knife!"

"Lets fuck her until she bleeds to death!"

"Rip out her lying throat!"

Rila shakes her head at the depravity of the insults and grabs her omni-tool, "This is officer Rila calling back-up at the Community Center-!"

"Hey when did the cop show up?!"

Rila looks up and scowls at the crowd as their attention is drawn to her. She keeps an eye on the light-blue masked Quarian that's cornered and flares her biotics, "This is the APC, if you don't want to leave in a body bag then BACK THE HELL OFF!" Her inner rage mirrored in her voice and most of the crowd back away in fear or intimidation leaving only two or three Turians, and twin Batarians. She notices the weapons in their hands and nervously builds up a stronger barrier.

_What have I gotten myself into this time?_

A low explosion sounds outside and she turns in shock as the building shakes as a result.

_What the-?_

She quickly focuses back on the group in front of her as bullets bounce off her barrier. "Shit!" She swaps out her pistol for her rifle and curses as it doesn't unfold and sparks instead, "Piece of crap!" She looks at a Turian who must have hacked it since his omni-tool was glowing. Tossing a throw at the group she's shocked to see one of the Batarians reflect it bioticly.

_SHIT SHIT SHIT!_

She yelps as the other Batarian lunges at her with a forged omni-blade. She quickly uses her rifle to block it and watches as the blade slices right through the rife and cuts into her armor like butter.

_FUCK!_

She staggers back and falls on her butt in shock and attempts to bioticly kick the Batarian in the gut, which he deflects easily. Rila grits her teeth and grabs for her pistol only to be kicked int he stomach and tossed into a wall bioticly, her pistol clattering out of her reach.

_No..._

"Well, looks like we're going to have some fun with this one." The Batarian with yellow face paint states as he grabs her by the throat.

Rila's mind burns with total fear and fury and time seems to slow as she watches them move to overcome her.

* * *

"Oh..." I hiss as I feel the pain of the front of my skycar smashing into my ribcage. Opening my eyes I find the entire thing smashed through the outer wall of the Community Center and a few severely frightened workers trying to figure out if the driver had survived.

_Fucking hell I have got to stop crashing into things._

I roll out of the still burning wreckage and shake my head, trying to make some sense of my surroundings. "Scorpio, I would advise you NOT to use your skycar to break enemy perimeter again, for both our sakes?" Lia says with slight annoyance in my ear.

"Yeah, yeah, just send me the coordinates for her omni-tool and continue alerting the APC of my condition every thirty seconds." I respond, checking that my weapons were still in place.

"Are you alright sir?" I look up and see an Asari clerk shaking in fear in front of me.

"I-" The sound of gunshots in the background interrupts me and I quickly turn towards the sounds. "Where is the main hall?" I ask quickly.

"It's that way, be careful there's a lot of them." I ignore her warning and nod in thanks before running down the hall towards the main hall, readying myself for combat.

* * *

All of a sudden a flash of light hits Rila's eyes and she feels her biotics loose all of their power. She shakes in fear as she sees the Batarian crush her amp in his hand bioticly, "Won't be needing this anymore." He mocks.

She spits in his face. "Get the fuck off of me!" She yells angrily.

The Batarian sneers as his twin and another she didn't see surround her while the Turian runs off to help his buddy with the two other Quarians that seemed to have found some poles and joined the fight. She cringes as one licks her tear-stained cheek and grins wickedly with satisfaction. Rila twists and turns, trying to break free from their grip. They kick the wind out of her and she rolls onto her side to cough up some blood. "Your ours now Whore!" They taunt.

She uses her new position to check on the others to see if they could help. She sees the Blue-masked Quarian seemingly knocked out and limp against a wall with a slightly cracked mask, her attention shifts to the only male Quarian in the room electrocuting the massive Turian with his omni-tool and the last one, a short female with a blackened mask who is surprisingly winning at hand-to-hand combat against the other two Turians. She yells out in pain as a fist slams into her head, "Pay attention Whore, I want to look you i the eye when I fuck you."

She turns to her left and spits in the top right eye of the Batarian, "Fuck off!"

He pull out a knife as the other two hold her down and cuts through her armor belt.

*click*

The Batarian's stop and look behind them towards the door.

"Get the hell off of her right now." She feels relief and fear as she hears the supreme anger and rage in the person's deep, TRIPLE toned voice. She tries to look around to see who it is and blinks as she sees through her blurring vision a completely black figure glowing with biotic energy.

The Batarians all at once grab for their weapons and she sees the black figure raise its hand. The Batarians are instantly chucked over her and into the wall behind her, she FEELS their bones crack and break from the impact. Rila freezes in shock as she hears a gut-wrenching, muffled battle-cry just as the black figure pulls out a red EDGE pistol and fires once, shattering the left knee of the Turian who tried to ambush him.

_What-?_

The Turian stumbles to his knees and she puts all her strength into trying to watch what happens. She sees the figure spin-kick the side of the Turian's head, knocking him out cold before swapping to what looks like a sniper rifle and pointing it at the far-side of the room. Rila blinks in pain and carefully shifts her head to her right to see what was happening. She feels like she's under water and hears some muffling before a hot is fired and a hard THUMP before passing out.

* * *

"The APC are still two minutes out Scorpio"

"That's great LIA, but I kind of need some assistance here!" Scorpio shouts as he aims at a massive Turian holding a male Quarian hostage with a pistol on the other side of the room.

"Don't come any closer Human!" The Turian shouts.

"Let go of me you Bosh'tet!" The Quarian yells while struggling with his captor.

I focus on my sights, hoping I doesn't miss. "Locking hardware, optimizing targeting solution." I hear before seeing my sights zoom in on the right eye of the Turian and stop shaking.

I take in a deep breath, "This is your final warning, let go of the Quarian." I growl out, still in the triple tone I don't have time to understand.

I see the Turian's finger slowly press down on the trigger and I fire, the time dilation my adrenaline gave me allowing the moment to last an eternity as the round flies through the air and pierces the scrapes along the side of the Quarian's mask before slamming into and shattering the Turian's eye socket and finally exiting out through one of his fringes to impact the far wall. I feel a smile creep up my face as the exhilaration of the moment dissipates and I finally relax slightly.

_Fucking hell, fuck my life._

The corpse hits the floor and pins the unharmed Quarian unfortunately as I notice Rila passing out from blood loss to my right. I close my eyes as the anger overwhelms me.

_I need to keep calm._

_**YOU ARE NEVER CALM!**_

My eyes open and I see red as I reach up and bioticly chuck the only surviving Batarian into a table, shattering it. The Batarian aims his gun at me and I freeze, knowing I forgot to put on my shields and barrier.

_Not today, please..._

A flash from the left kicks the gun away to harmlessly fire into the floor and I watch as the small, completely black-suited Quarian nod to me while pulling out her dueling knives from her belt.

Something catches my eye from the left and I quickly aim and fire one round at a Turian that managed to sneak up behind the Quarian. The round quickly explodes the face of the Turian, killing him.

I look back to the Quarian just as she jumps back from a knife thrust the Batarian made with his duel omni-blades.

_FUCK._

I lock my rifle to my back after seeing how impossible it would be to hit one and not hit the other. "Activating duel omni-blade prototypes." The two deep, blood-red serrated blades cover my forearms as I dash across the round to just barely block a direct cut to the Quarian who opted to dodge instead of ruining her knives.

"Die!" The Batarian screams as he staggers me back and shoots a subjugation net at the Quarian, who dives just out of it's reach.

I scrape along one of his blocks and slice a long cut into his omni-tool band and arm, destroying one of his blades just as I dodge three quick thrusts from his other and earn a couple of cuts to my shoulder. A shine forces me to turn and duck as the Quarian's left knife impales in the other omni-band, destroying it as well.

I nod to her in appreciation as the Batarian yangs the blade out and stabs me in the shoulder, "AHHH!" The adrenaline dulls the pain, but not enough to block his kick to my gut, throwing me back a few feet. I gasp in shock ans cough out some blood.

_Fucking asshole Batarian scum._

I roll my neck to shake off my daze and try to ignore my impaled shoulder as a helpful bystander Turian helped me up and pushed me back at the Batarian. That's when I notice the Quarian being pined my him with a pipe. Another flare of rage hits me.

**_FINISH HIM!_**

I rip the blade out of my shoulder and flip it around, "HEY!" The Batarian stops beating the Quarian and turns just as I toss the blade, it spins through the air rapidly and I can see the surprise in his eyes just before the knife stabs straight into one of them.

"AHH!" His scream exhilarates me fore some reason and I slowly walk over, stalking him as he crawled for safety. The blackened Quarian joins me and we slowly approach our prey, watching for subtle hints at his movements.

"Would you like to taste him first or should I?" I hear from my right and I involuntarily grin, savoring the choice but deciding to wait for a small bit.

"Go ahead, me treat." I say casually.

"My pleasure." She responds wickedly.

I watch as she saunters towards the Batarian, who's now in the fetal position and whimpering. She kneels down and whispers, "Oh, is baby crying?" Her voice is almost motherly. The Batarian looks up fearfully and is about to speak when she yanks on her knife and rips it out of his skull while holding a hand over his mouth, muffling the bloody screams he creates.

_This is..._

Her hands reverently brush over her blade before she slams it down violently into the chest of the Batarian and pulls down, slicing it open. She Giggles as the arteries she hit spurts blood onto her suit, staining it orange.

_So much..._

She reaches into his chest cavity as he suffocates on his own blood and I realize I walked closer for a better look as she grabs hold of his rapidly beating heart and yanks on it, causing him to go into a seizure of some sort. I can feel the smile in her voice as she states, "Lets see if we can make everything happy again." and proceeds to cut out the heart. I stand frozen still with conflicting emotions as it beats three more times in her gloved hand before dying, along with it's owner. She bottles it in a glass jar of sorts and puts the heart in one of her suit's pockets, "Sorry about getting carried away, I do love a good murder." I shake my head slowly, not daring to speak after witnessing such a scene.

"Could someone help get this Bosh'tet off of me for Keelah's sake?!" I look to my left and quickly walk over to try and help the male Quarian still trapped under the weight of the massive Turian's corpse. I yank and try to lift the Turian and pant for a second.

_God damn, how much does this guy weigh?_

I think through what I know about lifting things bioticly and take a deep breath. "Hold on, I'm going to try and lift him off using my biotics, be ready."

"What? I can't understand you, my translator cracked!" He yells, muffled under the body.

"Tel the Human is going to lift the Turian bioticly so roll out when you can move again." The short Quarian says beside me.

I nod to her and wave my hand for her to back up before focusing my thoughts and muscles. Reaching out I imagine myself physically lifting the Turian and put it to reality, I feel the weight of the corpse and frown in concentration as it starts to become too much. In one final push I push the corpse away in my head and open my eyes in shock as I hear it hit the wall and crunch.

_Whoa..._

"Ok, remind me never to piss you off." I look to my left and find the short Quarian standing there, arms crossed, a tinge of a smile in her strangely wicked voice.

I nod and notice the male Quarian carefully lifting Seila off the ground and into his arms.

_I hope I wasn't too la- Rila!_

Quickly I turn around and dash to her side, there's a lot of blood and I can see plainly that it's from a head injury. "Fuck!"

The doors smash open and officers pour into the room as I lift Rila's surprisingly light frame while making sure her head was properly supported. "Freeze APC!" I look up to see a dozen rifles trained on our small group.

_I hate complacent officers._

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY! RILA AND SEILA NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION AND IF THEY DIE BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND ANSWER A DAMN CALL FAST ENOUGH I'LL MURDER YOU ALL!" I hear myself say these words with so much rage and hate that I sound triple toned again. Many of the officers immediately jump back and out of my way and the rest that don't are shaking in their boots. "MOVE!" The rest dissipate and I carefully dash out of the Community Center to find an Ambulance waiting.

Running up to it I rip the door open to find the first responders sitting comfortably, "Hey just what do you thi-" The stop as they see Rila and Seila. "Get them on the gurneys now!" We do as they say, I tell them that they've had severe head trauma and Rila bled a lot. They ask how long they were out and Tel says about an hour. Then the lights flash on the monitor, paddles are brought out, and I'm subject to a lot of medical terms I don't understand as I'm forced to help stabilize one of the few friends I have in this universe and watch the other nearing the same fate.

_Don't die Rila._

"CLEAR!"

_Don't die..._

* * *

A/N I hope you all enjoyed this gruesome chapter. Looks like Scorpio has a few more people joining his world, and another world for him to join. :) _  
_

What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you in your life, I'm curious, and I'm sure Scorpio can relate to anything and everything you can come up with. ;)  
Mine was witnessing a car accident where the mortality rate was 100% on the way home from school. Drunk driver went over the median and took out a minivan, four people died, I had to call it in, not a good day. *Shrug* But I got over it after their funerals so all is good.

What do you guys think? Should I do more chapters like this or was it a bit too much for ya?

Also for those of you not familiar with Latin, 'Acerbus Infinium' means 'Dark Infinity'. :)


	11. Seeing Red EVERYWHERE

A/N Another creepy chapter for you all! I wish it was Halloween or something so it was more appropriate. :/

Anyways, Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Strange how the dark seems to scare more people then the light, what we can't see frightens us more then all the known horrors we can see everyday. The darkness is comforting, solid, unwavering... safe... Rila always felt safer in the dark for some reason. Not knowing what's there was actually exciting to her, she was an explorer as a child, loving to see the unseen and uncover vast secrets. This eventually nearly got her killed on multiple occasions when she sneaks out of the house to search the woods for something new. Her mother always warned against her going outside alone, but Rila never saw the danger until it was too late.

One night, she was on one of her solo walks through the woods, listening to the gentle breeze, the cool feel of it on her skin along with the crunch of fallen leaves under her bare feet. It was forbidden for the daughter of a prestigious family to do what she did regularly, and that just added to the excitement of it all. Her mind wandered to thoughts about school, her lack of friends, the inability of anyone (her teachers included) to recognize her as anything then a snob living off of her parent's money and influence. She sighs in aggravation and shakes the thoughts away, she was too nervous around people to defend her position, but it still hu-

Lost in her thoughts she neglected to watch where she was going and tripping over a branch before falling into a deep hole, screaming all the way down until she landed unceremoniously on her back, surprisingly unharmed.

For hours she screamed and hollered for someone to help her, but no-one came. She sat there, whimpering from her situation before crying herself to sleep.

In her dreams she was free, she was popular, liked, and no-one thought of her as a terrible person. She loved the darkness, the cool and calm that brought her pleasant dreams every night, but you always have to wake up...

* * *

Rila gasps as her eyes open up and she heaves in panicking breaths before the blackness of the sky above her calms her heart.

_Where am I?_

She yawns tiredly and cringes in pain as she tries to sit up. Her vision blurs and she is forced to lay back down to stop her head from spinning.

_What happened?_

A flash of light strikes terror into her heart as lightning flies across the sky, intending to destroy anything in its path. She shivers for a second before taking a deep breath and reminding herself that the storm couldn't hurt her. She feels her hearing sharpen and the sound of crashing waves tells her she's near an ocean. For some unknown reason her mind tells her she has to run. She ignores it and gets into a sitting position to look around. Her surroundings were black and empty, some part of her was comforted by that fact, the rest was concerned. Her eyes sharpen and adjust to the darkness to show she was sitting on a beach of some sort.

_How did I get here?_

She whips her head around at a small whisper she hears, her eyes catch a person in the distance. She opens her mouth to speak but no words form. Her whole body starts shaking as she stands up and starts staggering towards the person.

_Maybe they can help me._

She hears herself whimper in severe pain as every step feels as if her feet were being cut apart. A girl giggles in the distance. "Hey! Stop! Please, help me!" Rila shouted as she continued to stagger after the girl.

The girl stops and Rila catches up, as she approaches the girl's form shrinks until disappearing all together. She pants at the exertion and stands there in confusion as her head pounds.

_What's going on?_

She looks around and sees nothing but darkness, as if she had gone blind. Her hearing perks up at the sound of footsteps behind her. Rila freezes as they expand and multiply to become constant all around her, "What's going on?!" Somethings growls dangerously to her left. "What's happening? Who's there?" She asks urgently, shaking with fear. The growling follows the footsteps and Rila turns and turns, trying to catch sight of what was hunting her until she trips over her own feet and falls.

"Oh..." Her head feels like it's going to split open as she feels it hit the hard stone floor. She coughs as she lays there and spits out the resulting blood.

_Ow... what happened?_

_**Rila...**_

She freezes as a whisper calls her name, it quietly echoes through the hall she's laying in. Her body is on fire as she stands and starts blindly walking towards the source of the strange whispering. They get louder and louder, accompanied by screams and more and more whispers raging against her ears until... they just stop. She pants in fear as the silence freaks her out more then it should. She jumps at the sound of slow, pounding footsteps moving towards her. She panics and turns to run, but slips and has to scurry into a corner, hoping not to be seen.

Her hand covers her mouth as tears form in her eyes from how fearful she felt. She sees two, bloody red and glowing eyes looking around, staring into the darkness, trying to find her. She feels her tears fall and hears one drip onto the floor loudly. She gasps and holds her breath as the creature hears it and slowly approaches. She shivers in fright as the eyes come close enough to see her before a noise from outside alerts the monster, making it dash out towards the sound with ferocious rage and away from her. She lets out a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding before carefully standing. She freezes as she hears growling from right behind her.

_Goddess no..._

She bolts forward as fast as she could, trying to escape the beast. She runs down the dall and out of the hallway, after the fifth step outside she hears the pounding again and picks up the pace as the monsters starts gaining on her. She sees a light as she turns in the darkness and throws herself at it.

The glass of the window shatters and cuts into her body as she flies through it. She screams as she feels herself fall until she splashes into a body of water.

Shocked at her luck, she swims to the surface and gasps for air as she quickly kicked towards the shore, trying her best to ignore the multiple searing cuts and embedded glass along her skin. She sees a shadowy figure that seemed to radiate danger, murder, insanity, and rage and out of desperation swims to that part of the shore.

Her feet carry her onto the beach and she screams in agony as pain shoots up her leg. She falls to her knees and cries as the pain intensifies. Her eyes open and she sees the sand was finely ground salt.

_Why is this happening?_

Rila screams out, letting her pain burn into her mind as she weeped. Her screams are cut short as a hand covers her mouth. She continues to scream and cry from her suffering as she opens her eyes to find a familiar shadowy, hooded figure shaking their head left and right slowly. She watches as it whispers in three echoed voices, "You must stay quiet to avoid alerting the monsters." She continues to cry even more as her vision blurs and focuses around only the shadowy figure until she finally passes out from the intense pain, grateful to feel the darkness consume her and take her in... she could finally rest...

* * *

Rila panics and she wakes, trying to fight off something not there. "Hey hey, it's alright, it's alright. Your in a hospital." She blinks in her dazed state and stops fighting the gentle hand keeping her on her hospital bed.

She shuts her eyes tight, holding back her tears as she grabs onto the arm of the person and asks, "What happened?"

"Everyone's fine, one of the Quarians got a concussion, the other has a cracked rib and the last... no physical damage but she's definitely fucked up in the head." The person says calmly.

_What are they talking about?_

"Huh?" She asks, a bit confused.

She feels the person place their hand on top of hers and she relaxes slightly, "You were knocked out during a firefight at the Community Center Rila, you don't remember that?" The person's voice was strangely fearful, and hopeful at the same time.

"I... remember that, I was talking about-" She stops herself.

_No-one is going to believe me if I tell them._

"Talking about what?" The person asked.

She keeps her eyes shut to ward off any trace of lies, "Nothing, nothing, just a dream." She finally lets go of the person's arm and remembers the incident. Her eyes well up with tears as the pain from feeling completely vulnerable in the hands of the Batarians tears into her mind. She starts whimpering and gasps as someone hugs her. She freezes, unsure what to do until she wraps her arms painfully around the person and let her tear out.

She cries for as long as she can while she replayed her nightmare over and over before taking in a deep breath and forcing the tears to stop. "Hey hey, it's alright, you're safe." She hears the person whisper to her.

_I'm stronger than this._

She lays her head on the person's shoulder and feels the soft fabric of a hood stroke her cheek gently. Rila takes in a deep breath of a strangely comforting scent that seemed to linger on the person and sighs as she finally feels safe enough to open her eyes.

She sees that she is indeed inside a hospital room and frowns at the strange black suit the person was wearing. She pulls away from the hug to look the person in the eye and freezes in absolute shock as the deep-brown eyes of Scorpio stare back at her. Her heart immediately jumps and thousands of feeling rush to the surface as she remembers how a person in the exact suit saved her, blew up a transport depot, and was considered a terrorist.

_AND SCORPIO IS INSIDE THE SUIT!_

Her heart monitor goes off the charts next to her, rapidly beeping as she tries to sort out what the hell was going on.

"Calm down Rila, calm down! Don't give yourself a heart attack, it's just me!" Scorpio states quickly, holding her hand carefully, trying to get her to stop panicing from the fact that he's holding her hand, and just hugged her, and possibly is a wanted terrorist and-

_OH GODDESS!_

She starts hyperventilating and he hands her some for of bag to breath into, which she quickly grabs and breaths in, and out, in, and out...

_Goddess..._

She calms down after a few minutes and lays there, light headed while Scorpio continued to try and calm her down. He has her drink some water and do breathing exercises. Her mind was frozen in place, completely gone from the overload of information.

_He's really taking care of me?_

Another gulp of water, some more soft words, another gentle brush against her hand. She smiles slightly and blushes, knowing she couldn't hide it.

She watches Scorpio watch her curiously, "Are you alright Ri?" He asks with concern.

_He's concerned!_

She nods slowly, not trusting her voice.

He looks over at the monitor and frowns while she continues to stare at him in awe.

Maybe he knows I love him? WHAT?! NO! I don't love him! I can't!

A small voice in the back of her head asks, "Why not?" and she has no answer for it.

"Maybe your concussion was worse then the doctors thought if your heart's beating this fast, and your blush seems to compound that theory." She blinks back at him while he places his fingers to her wrist and checks her pulse manually to see if the machine was counting right.

_He's barely even a friend, a possible terrorist friend, why would he even be interested in someone as dull as me? I can barely talk to him! He must think I'm a freak, like everyone else does._

"Well, either the heart monitor is broken or you're having a heart attack, but I'm not a doctor so I have no idea." Scorpio says before shrugging.

_He's so-_

Rila's thoughts are cut off by the door whooshing open as a very familiar doctor walks through.

"Well it seems we have a newly bonded couple! Congratulations, you're now able to fuck one person for about a hundred years." Jeilus states while smiling deviously.

"What! No!" Rila shouts in a high-pitched voice as a severe blush rises up her neck.

Scorpio laughs at Jeilus, "Ha ha, very funny Jeilus, that was hilarious." He states sarcastically. "I barely even know Rila, I think we at least need to go out a couple of times before I drop that dead-weigh on her." Rila's heart monitor skips twice at the thought of bonding with Scorpio, prompting her to curse her life.

"Well at least SOMEONE agrees." Jeilus winks at Rila knowingly and she shifts uncomfortably.

_I hate her so much._

Rila groans in pain and winces as her chest feels like it's on fire.

"You had four broken ribs, a concussion, and internal bleeding when you arrived" Jeilus says casually while inspecting her fingernails.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you here fast enough Rila." Scorpio lowers his head in shame.

"Hey, hey, it was not you're fault that I got hurt, I was being foolish thinking I could take on that crowd alone." Scorpio raises his head and smiles weakly at her before looking extremely angry and turning away.

Rila and Jeilus exchange a concerned look as Scorpio shakes his head and clenches his fists. "Scorpio?" Rila asks.

His fists start to glow and he mutters, "I should have gotten there sooner."

Rila reaches out to try and comfort him and yells out in intense pain. Instantly Jeilus is holding her arm and gently placing it back onto the bed. Scorpio jumps to her side, "Are you alright? What happened? Are you ok?" He asks quickly, the wisps of biotic energy slowly falling away from him as he stares at her with concern.

Rila holds back a tear from how much her arm burns, grateful for the concern.

Jeilus inspects her arm gently, careful not to move it too far, "I can't figure out why the nerves are overly sensitive in her left arm Scorpio."

Rila looks at Jeilus then to Scorpio who places one finger on her wrist and pulls it up her arm. She winces in pain, "EIAL!" Rila swears in Asarian as her arm burns once again.

Scorpio quickly lets go, "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to hurt that much."

"THAT MUCH!" Rila winces again as her chest cracks painfully.

"Her amp was riped out of her head." Scorpio comments.

_Yeah and it hurt A LOT!_

"That fast of a disconnect could have worsened her condition neurologically. I mean that's why you said I could never be implanted with a biotic amp, because my nerves are too sensitive." Rila blinks at Scorpio in slight confusion. She didn't know his condition was THAT bad, and she's a bit ticked off that they were talking like she wasn't even there. She looks at Jeilus as she seems to contemplate something.

Jeilus rubs her chin, "Hmm, it's a possibility I hadn't considered, mostly because Asari physiology has an extra gland at the base of the brain-stem that filters a lot of the unwanted feedback you suffer from. Which now makes sense since common amp overloads usually result in hypersensitivity in the limbs due to damage to that area of the neural network." Rila gulps in unease and internally panics that she had suffered brain damage and might be permanently scarred for the rest of her life. She notices Jeilus smiling at her, "All I need to do is do a scan of the area and everything will be clearer than a pyjak's rectum during mating season." Rila chokes.

"Jeilus, you might want to just stay quiet until Rila knows if she's ok or not." Scorpio comments.

Jeilus sighs and calls up her omni-tool, "Everyone's a critic." She lifts Rila's head off the pillow and scans the back of her skull before pulling it back and quickly typing something. Rila looks at her worriedly before Jeilus smiles again and says, "Everything is alright, just a small bit of bruising around the base of your skull, you'll be using your arms and legs like the rest of us in no-time."

Rila breaths a sigh of relief, "That's good." She mutters quietly.

Jeilus crosses her arms, "Your lucky that your bondmate was there to scream at the officers until they closed traffic to get you here before you had a seizure."

Rila looks at Scorpio in shock and notices he's looking off to the side, a common thing for people to do if they're withholding information, "I am lucky indeed."

_Why did he even show up at the Community Center?_

"Well I have more than one patient so page me if anything decides to blow up." Jeilus says seriously while walking out and down the hall.

Rila frowns.

_How she's able to keep her job here I have no idea._

She hears Scorpio snort a laugh and watches as he shakes his head before looking at her with so much concern in his eyes that her monitor skips another beat. Rila grinds her teeth, trying to keep herself under control.

_How am I going to get him to leave?_

She closes her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She stiffens when she feels someone cup her cheek. She keeps her eyes shut, fearing her heart would explode if she saw who was doing it. The hand leaves her and she opens her eyes to find Scorpio walking towards the door.

"Wait!" He stops in his tracks.

_What am I doing? What do I have to say!_

He turns around and her heart hits the floor from the devastated look in his eyes. She looks at him with concern and he smiles weakly, looking absolutely exhausted all of a sudden. "You don't have to go, we can talk if you want." Rila's eyes widen as she hears herself speak.

_Why did I say that? Why would I want to spend MORE time with the person who makes my whole body tremble with a look?! Am I insane?!_

Scorpio's eyes widen for a second before he smiles and walks over to sit next to her bed. She smiles as he puts his elbows on the bed and folds his hands, "So what's troubling you Rila?" He asks sincerely.

_He's analyzing me isn't he. Maybe he can analyze me some more when I get better, alone._

She blinks in shock.

_Where did THAT come from?_

"I... have been swamped lately." She says carefully, he nods to indicate he's listening. "I just moved out of my parent's estate for the first time and am having difficulties dealing with everything at once." She swallows nervously, she'd never talked to anyone about herself before. "It's really stressful, balancing work and home, not to mention all the little things."

"Who're your parents?" Scorpio asks, catching Rila off guard.

"Uh..." She bites her lower lip.

_Should I tell him?_

"I'm... will you promise never to tell anyone?" She watches him.

He frowns slightly before nodding, "Yeah, sure, not sure why but yeah, I'll keep it a secret."

She shifts uncomfortably before taking a deep breath and saying, "My last name is Tevos."

The effect is instant, Scorpio jumps out of his chair, stares at her in absolute shock, and nearly screams out that her last name was Tevos before covering his own mouth to muffle it and screaming his head off. He sits back down after pacing for a about a minute or two, "Sorry, it's a bit shocking." he says, eyes as wide as saucers. They sit there in silence for a moment until he breaks the silence, "So..."

She watches him shift around for a bit, "Your related to the Asari counselor?"

Rila sighs and lowers her head, "Yeah, she's my mother, well one of them." She cringes as she says the words.

_Now I've done it._

Scorpio takes a deep breath and asks, "One of them?"

Rila winces, "I'm... please don't hate me." He watches her with a confused expression as she reaches up and placed two fingers on the center of her eyes. Scorpio gasps as she takes out her contacts, revealing sharp, azure blue eyes. "I'm a _pureblood_." She bites out the word like it's a curse.

Scorpio sits back in his chair and she waits for him to accuse her. "So?" She hears.

She opens her eyes and stares at him in shock, "What? Aren't you mad at me? Aren't you going to scold me?" She can feel tears well up in her eyes.

He shakes his head, "Why would I be? Both your parents were Asari, they bonded, you were the result. It's biology. Why would I be offended by biology?"

She glares at him, "Because I'm a freak! I don't deserve life!" She feels herself start to loose control. "Nobody loves me! I have to wear contacts and use pigment altering drugs just to keep my mother from being a disgrace! Just so I can walk around and be treated as normal without being shunned!" She covers her eyes with her right arm and starts to cry.

"Your not a freak." Scorpio whispers.

"Yes I am. I'm blue, completely blue, and a freak." She keeps sobbing, hatting herself for who she is, a freak, a deceiver, something not worth the air she breathes.

"No."

She sniffles and looks through at him with puffy eyes, "What?"

"You are a beautiful, attractive young woman with a great job protecting people, you have a great life and you deserve nothing less Rila no matter who your parents are." His eyes are strong, his resolve strangely solid, but comforting.

"Y-you, you don't mean that, everyone who says that is a lier!" She shakes her head angrily.

"Why?" He asks calmly.

"Because, because I'm not worth telling the truth to." She sobs again, this time with more force. "I'm a sick freak that needs to be put down."

"I know some people that deserve that punishment, but you aren't one of them. Why should I hate you, and give me the logical reason." Scorpio states rather than asks.

She looks at him and tries to think of something, anything that made sense beyond the hurtful words and mocking and cursing, but she can't. "No, no logically it is impossible for someone to hate another they barely know without bias or prejudice." She says quietly. He smiles and she blinks at him on confusion, "So you don't hate me?" He nods. She stops sobbing and he hands her a handkerchief, she wipes her eyes and notices it was embroidered with some kind of insect. "What are these?" She asks while still sniffling a little.

He smiles and looks into her wonderful vibrant blue eyes, "They're Scorpions, an arachnid from Earth, and the origin of my nickname."

She frowns, "Your nickname?"

Scorpio raises an eyebrow, "You didn't think my real name was Scorpio did you?" His voice is teeming with laughter.

She blushes, "Kind of, what's your real name then?"

He shakes his head, "Not telling you, at least not without trusting you first. It's a well kept secret I don't like to disclose, kind of like your last name and your secret that your a faming hot blue angel under all that purple."

Rila's cheeks burn and she turns away to try and hide it unsuccessfully.

_He's making it really hard not to love him._

"You really don't have a problem with my origins?" She asks cautiously, still weary that he's playing a sick game with her.

He shakes his head and leans forward to whisper, "I wouldn't care if you were an Ardat Yakshi." His eyes widen, "You're not right?" She giggles and shakes her head, "Ok, good, phew, that was about to get a bit awkward." He sits down and folds his hands in his lap, "Now I know why you like to go by Officer Rila, no-one wants to have a name so regal as the Tevos hanging over their career and love life."

Her heart monitor skips again.

She nods in agreement, "People usually shunned me because of my name, saying that I was buying my way through school when in reality I had no help from my parents what so ever. I'm still isolated socially when people figure it out. Thankfully no-one knows about my other secret, otherwise my mother would be kicked off the counsel and demoted."

Scorpio frowns, "But Matriarch Benesia has a..." He struggles with finding the words, "Natural Asarian daughter named Liara and she isn't shunned from society."

Rila shakes her head, "And how often do you see them together in public? She has to distance herself from her only daughter to keep her position and I don't want my mother to do the same with me. Neither does she, that's why I wear contacts and take pigment altering drugs, it's a sacrifice, but I love my mother so it's worth it."

He shakes his head, "I don't see why it's such a horrendous difference, I personally think the sharp blue eyes are more attractive, maybe the rest of them are just jealous?" He shakes his head and misses her heart beat on the monitor fluttering at his comment. "It's foolish and something I wouldn't expect from one of the most advanced races in Citadel Space."

Rila sighs and places her contacts back in, "What can you do? It's prejudice and a lot of people believe it, so much so that it's actually illegal to be a pureblood-"

Scorpio cuts her off, "Natural Asari. Never say that terrible word again, it belittles others."

She nods thankfully and continues, "Natural Asari, I like it already. Anyways it's illegal and punishable via execution to be a Natural Asari in one of the Southern Republics on Thessia."

Scorpio jumps back with disgust, "How can they do that! That's immoral! That goes against everything anyone has ever said about the Asari!"

Rila nods sadly, "It's true, not many are able to get away with it successfully like I have, the medication is expensive and illegal in some places, and the side effects can really kill you, thankfully I've had only a lack of energy when I wake up and that's about it. But the expense is the real thing thats killing me. I actually had to be promoted to the top Officer in the APC to just get by on my expenses, and I was only promoted because of how they want to use my name as publicity, which is why the commissioner likes having me at her side during press releases. Just another thing that'll get thrown away if people find out what I am." She lowers her head in shame.

Scorpio looks at her with concern, "Do you need help? I can front you some credits if you need them."

She shakes her head and frowns, "I never borrow money from others, It's against my personal beliefs. To owe someone money is to owe them your soul, I don't want that."

He smiles, "Seems like your strong will is getting the better of you Rila."

She smirks, "Alright, alright, and don't call me Rila, my full name is Rilana Aleena Tevos 'Rila' is just a nickname I give to acquaintances."

She watches Scorpio's eyes shift for a moment before he smiles. "Rilana Aleena Tevos, a beautiful name, but I'll call you Rila when we're in public, no need to give it out so easily, make them work for it." He comments.

She laughs, "Damn right. Now get out of here, your interrupting my nap." She smiles brightly at him, happy with their talk, but nervous about the future.

Scorpio bows in respect, "See you when you wake up." He leaves and lets the door close behind him.

_He's so nice, and kind, and interesting, I should do something for him when I get the chance, maybe take him out to dinner._

The sweat darkness surrounds her once again, but for the first time in her life, she didn't want to let it overtake her.

* * *

I let the door lock behind me and slide against it until I hit the floor.

_WHAT THE FUCK!_

Taking a deep breath I try and keep calm after learning the most disturbing connection in history.

_Rila is Rilana ALEENA TEVOS! NOT only is she a TEVOS, DAUGHTER to the ASARI COUNSELOR, but if her middle name is any indication, and the fact that she's a Natural Asari, then her father... is ARIA FREAKING T'LOAK!_

I grab my chest as I feel as if the name itself would give me a heart attack.

_Oh, crap! The fiction has become reality! SON OF A BITCH!_

I feel as if I need to scream my head off to get the coincidences to stop happening.

_Why?! Calm down! Calm down Scorpio, Dylan... no I'm Scorpio, but I'm also Dylan. WHY AM I ARGUING THIS?!_

Taking a deep breath, I let it out and shake my head, mentally blocking any thought about the implications until a later time when I can properly freak out.

_I think my heart is going to burst, or maybe that's just the Asarian food I had for lunch in the cafeteria._

I had a nice talk with Jeilus about eezo exposure and my biotics while Rilana was out, apparently if I digest enough eezo rich foods then my nervous system back-fires and I loose control of my biotics for a short period of time. It can also cause hallucinations and morning sickness if not treated properly.

_Makes sense, I only started having hallucinations after I started eating the native flora._

Standing up, I wince from the pain in my shoulder.

_Damn, that Batarian had good aim._

I roll my shoulder and pull off my right glove to inspect the strange cuts that started appearing after the fight.

_I didn't even hurt my hands._

Tracing the red marks on the outside of my hand I gasp as they burn and glow as another line is cut by an invisible knife into my skin, it doesn't bleed. It just stays red like the others.

_What the hell is happening to me?_

I look around to see that no-one saw me have my mini freak-out and pull my glove back on as I think I see someone at the end of the hall.

_What the-?_

I blink and the shadow is gone. I feel great unease as I walk towards the room next door.

I hid the marks from Jeilus when she scanned me, but she still found them. I'm seriously not sure what to do. And she had no explanation for them either.

The door opens to Seila, laying on a hospital bed with a new mask and Tel, the male Quarian, to her left, holding her hand. I notice the Black masked Quarian to my right, leaning against the wall in the shadows and tinkering with her blood-red omni-tool display. She looks up and nods respectfully to me as I enter and I nod back, remembering her skill in taking down the Turian and the butcher of the Batarian.

_No reason to piss her off, no reason to speak to her either._

I continue in and round the bed to Seila's right side and sitting in a chair sitting there. "Hey Seila, how are you doing?" I ask carefully.

Her head rolls over to look at me and I can see her frowning, "Hey, where are your wings? You don't have wings anymore? Your the Dark Angel. You need your wings!" She points an accusing finger in me face and I carefully set her arm back onto the bed.

I look at Tel and ask, "What type of medication did they give her?"

He seems to frown and looks at the shadowed Quarian in the corner, "Mein there gave her enough tranquilizers to kill a Krogan!"

_Mein? Huh._

Mein shrugs, "I was sick of her whining so much for a broken nose."

I shake my head as Tel stands abruptly, fists clenched angrily, "You almost killed her with an overdose!"

Suddenly Seila grabs Tel's arm and pulls him down onto the bed so they were face-to-face and says dreamily, "You're always SOOOO serious, and I LOVE it when you're serious!"

Tel pries his arm from her grip and climbs off of her to sit back down and take her hand, "I agree, but our guest doesn't need to know that."

Seila looks over at me and gasps.

"What's wrong?" I ask, getting a bit uneasy.

"THE GETH HAVE RETURNED!" She screams before waving her arms dramatically and passing out.

Tel brushes the back of her hand and says, "Oh Seila, what am I going to do with you." He then shifts her into a comfortable position and tucks her in.

I step back and look at the opening door to find Jeilus walking in sighing while muttering, "I should ask for a raise for all the shit I have to deal with daily." She looks at us and says, "Seila needs another anti-toxin treatment so can Tel help me wheel her bed down to the first floor? All the nurses are apparently humping the walls for something to do in the break room or something and no-one wants to help me." I let out a quick laugh and Tel silently nods as he picks up the apparently portable monitoring equipment.

"Do you need any help?" I ask.

Jeilus looks at me and asks, "Have you ever seen a naked Quarian before?"

I blink, "Uh, well no, but-"

"Then I don't need anymore help." She says quickly as they cart Seila's bed out the door and down the hall.

I stand there and sigh for a moment, wishing I could help someone out. Pulling up my mask I shrug and sit down cross-legged in the spot where the bed used to be and close my eyes to meditate. I focus internally and quickly form a biotic sphere the size of an orange over my lap.

_For some reason my biotics are becoming stronger the more I use them, Jeilus says its from all the practice, but they feel more then stronger. They feel... stabilized, and easier to conjure at a moments notice. It still burns like hell when I use them but whatever, I can live with that._

Bending my vision of the room to my biotics, I start practicing something I noticed over the last week or two.

_Whenever I close my eyes, I can still see biotics, when I use them I can still... well... feel them I suppose. It's been a bit sureal, and haunting how quickly I'm learning these powers. It's becoming a bit too much to handle._

I internally blink and pulse my biotics slightly, creating a form of echo-location around me, allowing my senses to pick up on the smallest de-

"What are you doing?" Mein startles me, nearly breaking my concentration.

I open my left eye and look at her as she leans against the wall to my left, arms crossed, her eyes completely hidden from behind her black mask. I close my eye and say, "I'm channeling the Dark Energies of the universe to pro-long my biotic abilities in intense physical warfa-"

"I'm asking for the short version." Mein interrupts.

I sigh, "I'm bioticly meditating."

I feel her push off the wall and I feel her silent steps move around me one, twice, and once more before she sits down in front of me. Opening my eyes I see her tilt her head slightly,"What did you feel when we killed that Batarian?"

I take in a deep breath, remembering it perfectly, even though I don't want to. "Rage, anger, devastation, sickness, happiness, solidarity, peace, chaos, release, and hilarity." I open my eyes and let out the rest of the breath, "Why? What did yo feel?" Her head lifts slightly and I can feel her smile at me.

She giggles innocently, "I just felt relieved that we were gutting them and not the other way around. Although I do LOVE some good knife-play, really gets the blood flowing..." I watch her carefully, "Out of their hearts!" She giggles and I feel a twitch of a smile on my face before disgust fills my gut.

"I personally would rather go for-" She cuts me off.

"I know what you like, your prized knife has more than enough evidence on it." She smiles at me again and starts crawling across the ground towards me, "Do you know how it feels to be inside a Submission Net?" My concentration falters as she gets so close that I can see her eyes through her mask, "It's horrifyingly exhilarating."

I blink from behind my mask, "Maybe I should try that sometime. It could be fun!" I laugh to show I was sarcastic and I hear her giggle in her strangely maddening way.

She places a hand on my arm and I have a lot of trouble concentration. She moves her gloved hand down my armor, "Well... maybe we could do it together some time, add some cuts to the mix? Maybe some S and M?"

I stare at her for a second.

_Is she really asking me if I enjoy-?_

"I don't have the time to add 'voluntary torture' to my to-do list." I nearly growl out.

She stops her hand on my thigh and moves her mask within an inch of my own, "Feisty! I'll enjoy pleasuring myself to your memory later." She smirks from behind her mask and winks at me before standing and walking back to her corner as I shake my head.

_I have no idea what just happened._

Shaking off the weird feeling I have in my gut, I form another biotic ball of energy and start up my meditation aga-

"How long have you been touched by the Dark Angel?" I blink once before opening my eyes and looking at Mein through my HUD.

I watch her as she just leans there, expecting an answer, "What is the Dark Angel? Seila said I was one and now you're saying I was touched by one."

Mein tilts her head and watches me watch her for a second, "You truly don't know? The taker of lives? The bleeder of souls? The fucker of children?" Her voice wavers strangely as she says 'children'.

I frown at her for a second before understanding, "I am a servant of those who have seen death and know his might?" I quote from a book I read in high school.

She nods and takes a step out of her corner once again, "You know his words? Hmph, all he ever got me was pregnant."

I watch her as she walks left and right in front of me as I meditate, "Pregnant?" I ask, a bit confused as to how a concept of death could impregnate someone.

She stops immediately, "Figure of speak, you know? He allowed me to give birth to my true self." She hugs herself an turn a bit with bright elation. Her arms are thrown up and she shouts, "ALL HAIL THE SOUL EATER!" She giggles at her own words and plops down beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

I stop meditating and look at her as she hums a strange tune that seemed to portray the very act of killing someone. "I've witnessed his work, yes." I whisper quietly, not sure why she even asked.

She rests her head comfortably on my right shoulder and sighs happily, "I wish only for everyone to know his beauty, I wish they could see his world."

_His... world..._

"What do you mean by 'his world'?" I ask, remembering something from my dreams.

She snuggles closer, "The world of his creation, of darkness, of blood, of ends..." My eyes widen as she starts rocking us left and right gently.

Oh god, I've been there! Why have I been there? Neril... I'm going to have to have a long talk with that bitch when I get home!

"I've been there..." I barely whisper.

"I know... I can see it in your eyes... but you're powerful... you can see it through THEIR eyes!" She whispers gently. I swallow as the pain and severe suffering I witnessed and felt from... that pla-

_No! I am not going to remember that!_

Shaking my head I take a deep breath and push Mein off of me, she stays seated while I stand and walk away.

_She's wrong I'm nothing like her, I'm-_

"You can't escape the truth Scorpio." I hear from behind me as I reach for the door controls.

I pause to say, "I'm not a murderer Mein, I kill when it's necessary-"

"But you enjoy it," I feel her arms on my shoulders and I close my eyes, trying to get her words out of my head. "You enjoy killing them, don't you? I know you do..."

I spin around angrily and grab her by the throat with my right hand as we fall to the ground, "I am nothing like you!" I scream in her face. "You are a murdering psychopath! I kill people who need killing!"

She simply wiggles slightly and lets out a shaky, excited breath, "I am nothing more than a witness to his power, so are you!"

_No I'm not! I was a victim!_

I feel my grip tighten around her throat unconsciously, "You are a sick, perverted animal! I stop people like you! I's KILL people like you!"

She smiles, I can feel her smile, "You ARE me!" She gently places a hand over mine and pulls down the glove, showing the red cuts as they glow violently. I stare at them in shock and fear. She unseals her right glove and pulls it off to show a nearly complete symbol etched in blood red on the back of her hand. I gawk at the symbol and take her hand with my own to compare, I can't see any differences other then one was just starting and the other was almost finished. The Prothean symbol for Death...

_No... Nononononono! NO!_

I jump off of her and back away. "NO! Nonono!" My mind won't stop spinning.

"YES! You see? You are me!" Mein giggles madly from her sitting position as she finishes sealing her suit and injecting antibiotics into her bloodstream.

My back hits the door and I slide down it, still staring at the glowing lines.

_Why? Why me?_

"Why is it always me...?" I whisper quietly. Tears well up in the corners of my eyes as I remember how many people I've killed.

_Five... I killed five people without hesitation... I..._

_**YOU KNOW WHY I CHOSE YOU.**_

I shake my head, not wanting to listen. "You have no power over me."

"I have no what? Power? Is that why you kill people Scorpio? So you don't loose control?" I grind my teeth in aggravation as I hear Mein's voice wake me from my thoughts.

"I kill people that-" I shut my mouth, not wanting to give her the satisfaction.

_She doesn't care, she's trying to send me over the edge. I need to talk with Neril, and soon._

*Whoosh*

I yelp as my back support fails and I hit the back of my head on the hard floor, "Oh..."

"Having a nice little crisis I see," Opening my eyes I see Jeilus and Tel staring down at me. "Could you please get off the floor so I don't run you over? It takes forever to get blood stains out of this coat."

I blush from behind my mask and quickly jump up to get out of the way while rubbing my head, "Sorry, sorry."

They wheel Seila, still asleep, back into the room and I join Mein in the shadowy corner, getting out of the way while they set everything back up.

"Call me when you realize your true self, we can hunt together." I hear Mein whisper to my left.

My omni-tool lights up with hers and I reluctantly accept her contact information. "Thanks." I bite out. She smiles wickedly again.

_If Neril can't give me the answers I want then Mein is the only other option. She's the LAST option I wanted but there you have it._

Sighing out of exasperation I walk out of the shadows and notice Seila even more passed out then before, completely limp. "What the hell happened to her this time?"

Tel looka at me before sighing, "Seila woke up mid-detox and before I could even get a word in Jeilus here tranquilized her with something that'd make Mein's home concoction look like a headache pill!"

"Hey, you really need to forward me that recipe." Mein asks Jeilus as she finishes placing the monitor back on the wall.

Jeilus scoffs, "Yeah, sure, right after I devour eight te'm roots." We all stare at her in confusion.

...

"Te'm?" She repeats.

...

"The root?" Nothing. Jeilus sighs, "The Asari equivalent of Krogan Ryncol? You know, the kind of drink that'll make you explode from the inside out?"

"That sounds like fun." Mein comments creepily.

Jeilus face-palm and mutters, "I'm too old to deal with these uneducated monkeys." She turns to me. "Scorpio, you haven't slept for over 39 hours, unless you want me to knock you out medically I am ordering you to go the hell home. You are no help to anyone here in your state."

"If he's getting knocked out, I call dibs on undressing him!" Main states enthusiastically.

I raise my hands defensively, "I... think I'll just be going home now." Both Jeilus and Mein pout. "Hey, hey! Nobody gets to tranquilize me without my saying! Are we understood?" Jeilus nods her head and Mein just stares at me.

_I should go... hey now I know why Shepard says that all the time!_

I shrug and keep an eye on Mein while nodding a goodbye to Tel, who ignores me in favor of keeping Seila from rolling out of bed.

_Ok then..._

I exit the room and look at Rilana's door as I walk by.

_Should I talk with her? Is she even up?_

Calling up my omni-tool I get the door to crack open two inches to I can look inside, I see nothing but darkness and Rilana sleeping on her bed comfortably.

_I'll call her in the morning._

* * *

As I walk out into the parking lot I remember how I smashed my skycar into the community Center and sigh.

_Fuck, now I have to deal with the ARTS again. FUCK ME!_

Walking up to the podium I call one of the skycars and grind my teeth as I see how fast it comes in for a landing.

_This is not going to go well at all..._

* * *

"AHH!"

*BEEP* "You have arrived."

I practically jump out of the skycar just as it land, absolutely grateful it was all over.

_Ok, NOW I need to find whoever programmed these damn things and kill them!_

I stop in my tracks and take a deep breath.

_All this recent death is messing with my head, I need a breather._

Rubbing my eyes from my sudden sleepiness, I walk into the lobby and take a deep breath to calm my nerves as I see Neril sitting at her desk.

_Time to confront the witch._

Stomping up to the desk she looks up and smiles as I approach, "Why hello sir, welcome back!"

Her kind demeanor puts me off balance for a second. "Neril." I respond angrily.

She ignores me and looks down at her omni-tool. "What? Oh, I'm preoccupied at the moment, I hope you understand."

My biotics flare and I grab her shirt over the desk, pulling her into my face, "You have got some explaining to do Neril." I growl out.

She stares at me, face cold and uncaring, "I have no idea what you're talking about Kerik."

I smirk, "I'm not Kerik."

She goes wide-eyed for a split second before going back to a cold expression, "We must be alone."

I tighten my grip on her shirt, "Get in my apartment right now before I cut your head off." I'm shocked at how... murderous my voice sounds.

She nods and smiles wickedly, "You are quite persistent Kerik, I will help you understand." I let go of her and watch her brush herself off before walking out from behind her desk almost regally. "This is not what I expected." She comments while walking with me down the hall, "It seems our plans must be accelarated." We reach my door.

"What plans?" I ask suspiciously.

_I don't want to be any part of torturing innocents!_

She smirks as she effortlessly breaks through my master encryption and walks inside. "You must be confused, I would be." She sits down on my couch and pats the space beside her, "Please, sit."

I watch her wearingly for a second before sighing and sitting uncomfortably beside her.

_This had better be informative._

She holds out her hand and I look at it, confused. She scoffs, "Give me back the Medallion! Obviously you have no idea how to control it yet."

Blinking, I reach into my pocket and surprisingly pullout the black medallion from two nights ago.

_How did I hold onto it? I changed clothes three times!_

Placing it in her palm I watch as its spikes thrust outwards and the inky black center starts to swirl once again. "Ah... much better..." Her skin ripples with biotic energy, light pulses of dark blue slowly building towards her palm. I watch as the blue tattoos that line her arms and face recede back to her palm and end in the same symbol I saw on Mein's hand. Only Neril's is finished, and constantly glowing. "This is our mark. The mark of the home realm. All life has it's mark, only a few can be blessed with its gifts." Neril speaks reverently.

I watch her for a moment, seeing the strange feeling I can't explain in her eyes. I watch her experience the feeling happily, when I know that it is nothing even close to good. "You... enjoy that feeling? The feeling of death?" I ask quietly, still trying to comprehend what I just witnessed.

She nods slowly, staring into the black swirling matter of the medallion. "We know what is to come of us, and we accept that." She looks up at me, "Would you like to know the secrets of life?" She asks carefully.

I stare at her, asking myself the same question, but in different wordings.

_Do I want to join them? Join their... organization of death? Do I want to see life as ending?_

"No..."

She blinks and stares at me incredulously, "What?" She asks angrily

I cross my arms, "No, I'm not going to join your... organization just because you think I'm special. I already know I'm special, I'm partially insane!"

She glares dangerously, "I am warning you that you will pay dearly if you deny the gifts that we offer."

"I have yet to see ANY 'gifts' being offered. Unless you show me exactly what I'll be gaining by joining you I'm out!" I stand and start to walk towards the door to escort her out.

"You will not defy him!" Something sharp stabs into my neck and I grab at the syringe.

Pulling it out I turn around and watch as everything becomes blurry all of a sudden.

_Wha-?_

The sedative takes effect as I fall onto the carpet floor. "Oh, you will regret your defiance Kerik..." I barely hear her wicked words as all feeling leaves my body and the lights start to spin in my sight.

_No... I have to... she can't..._

A sharp screeching assaults my ears, knocking my thoughts away and forcing me to let the darkness in...

* * *

Blood... I see so much blood... just like before only, it's easily traversed. I swim forward, through the dark liquid and towards a bright light barely shining through its surface. Gasping for air, I surface and shake off the lingering droplets as I push towards the shore.

_Where am I?_

Thunder booms overhead in the dark clouds and I watch as orange lightning flies across the sky. It starts raining as I finally reach solid ground. I sheild my eyes from the rain and notice the blood start to pool around me.

_What?_

I hold out my hand to see its raining blood. I ignore it, knowing something had to happen soon for some reason.

"AHH!" I jump as a cream is heard from the ocean of red behind me. I look out and try to find the source before finding her.

"Neril.." I growl out the name as I notice her prone form drifting closer to the shore, using a severed leg as a flotation device.

She notices me standing there and paddles closer. I search around me for something, anything I could use to do... something. "Kerik! *cough, cough* Help me out here!" I turn back and find her being chased by a massive creature.

_She deserves... Oh fuck it!_

I run to the water and dive in, not wishing for her death to be on my hands. Lightning strikes overhead once again, showing the monster as Neril fights against the waves to escape its giant maw. "I'm coming!" I shout while panting at the exertion of swimming through the thick liquid.

"Help!" She screams.

I paddle faster, trying to get closer.

_Have to help her, have to hurry._

"Hey!" I shout as the fleshy monster moves closer to Neril. It pauses in its movements ans turns to me. I look under the surface for a moment, and watch as its burning eyes watch me with... furious anger. I glare at it, not sure what else to do in my vulnerable position.

A loud groan sounds and I hear something whisper in my ear, "You will not deny us our meal Kerik!"

I grit my teeth and shut off my throat before yelling through the liquid, "Fuck off and go eat someone else!" It growls at me before diving deep and out of my limited sight.

_Great, now I can talk with demon fish!_

I resurface and cough out the blood I nearly swallowed before spotting Neril almost to the shore and swimming towards her.

_She had better explain what the hell is happening to me, or I'll-_

A huge splash throws me from the blood and I spot parts of the monster from the water diving through the air before both of us land back in the red ocean.

_Fucking hell!_

I surface and cough out another mouth-full of blood before looking around to find it threw me further out to sea. "Fuck you!" I shout as I spot it swimming away into the darkness that now surrounds me. I panic before lightning flashes and I can see the shore again.

_This is totally insane._

I paddle and kick as fast as I can, feeling my lungs burn from the exertion.

_Just... have... to... reach... the... shore..._

Something bites at my arm and I ignore the searing pain, opting to kick faster and deal with it when I hit dry land. I look up and find Neril waiting at the shore with a...  
"Oh son of a bitch." I cringe as I see the sheet of flesh that apparently represents a blanket in this reality.

_Get over it, you're here, you might as well learn what you can._

I collapse onto the beach as I finally get to rest from the extreme workout. "Fucking *wheeze* Hell! *wheeze*"

_I need to work on my cardio!_

It takes a few moments for me to catch my breath, but when I do I sit up to immediately be wrapped by the skin-blanket. I clench my teeth to hold back my scream.

Neril sits next to me and I notice her skin was... alright. Not normal, but not as sickening as it was last time. "Thanks..." She says quietly, sounding a bit unsure what to say.

I wave my hand to dismiss the sentiment, "It was nothing, I couldn't let you just die out there could I?"

She looks away for a moment, seemingly listening to a distant sound I can't pick up. She worriedly turns back to me, "We have to move."

I frown, "Why-?" I hear the screaming in the distance, flashing my memory of the creature from last time to my sight. "Ok." I respond, now scared to stick around.

She stands and I throw the sheet of flesh away quickly, "Follow me." I look and she's running so I bolt after her.

* * *

I follow her off of the beach, into a burning forest, and up to a cave entrance, we stop and I beld over, panting from the length of the run.

_Definitely need to do more exercising while I'm still alive._

I shake it off. She waves for me to follow and I feel... wanting... I feel like I want to see what's inside the cave for some reason.

She approaches a shadowed, hooded figure and bows to him, "Welcome back sister." The shadow greets with a deep and sinister voice. He looks at me, "Who is this? Another one for the pit?" I instantly freeze and look at Neril angrily.

She ignores my glare, "No, I believe I have found another of our kind wandering the beaches."

He looks me over and I cross my arms angrily. his eyes meet mine and I feel him smile, "Oh he is a strange one, fit for any position..." He looks at my bitten arm. "And willing to fight for it as well I see. Welcome to the order."

I tentatively nod, not particularly aware I had 'joined' anything yet. "He has not joined, he merely wishes to know what we are about before he makes his decision." I hear Neril state snidely. I glare at her.

The shadowed man shifts around uncomfortably, "Oh, well... alright, but the elders aren't going to-"

"Kerik?" I hear a calm, but confused voice ask.

We all look behind us and I see- "Mein?" I ask incredulously as I see her standing there, wearing tight black clothing, and no enviro-suit or anything.

She puts her hands on her hips and smirks, showing her sharpened teeth off as her glowing violet eyes burn holes into my soul, "Well, well. What do we have here? Are you visiting?"

I blink twice before saying, "I-I'm here trying to find out what's so great about your 'order'."

She smiles fully and slowly steps forward and out of the bloody rain. "You are a paranoid one aren't you?" She stops mere inches in front of me. "Well, take a look... I'm sure we have something you can do to enjoy yourself..."

I swallow and back up a foot or two to put some distance between the dark seductress and myself. "I'll give you a heads-up if I find anything."

She smirks and saunters past me, "Oh, I'm sure your head will be up before you leave the sanctuary tonight..." She winks over her shoulder as she draws a symbol on the stone wall. A flash of light hits us and she's gone, the bloody symbol running down the smooth surface effortlessly.

_Whoa... she is intense... I'd better stay clear of her._

"Such a drama queen, *sigh* but she's an elder in the counsel so you might want to talk with her later." Neril says beside me.

_I seriously doubt that._

I nod my head anyways, "So, how do we get inside?" I ask, now pretty curious as to what was behind the stone.

Neril grins deviously, "Just watch." She grabs hold of my injured arm and drags me to the wall. I groan as she bends my arm painfully to get at the still bleeding wound. "You cut deep..." I shut my eyes as she pulls her knife down the cut to create a gash. "Lift the wards of life..." Her bloody fingers trace an upside-down triangle into the stone inside a perfect circle. "Speak of ends... _ner seelon se ill_..." I pull my arm back and recognize the words from last time while I wrapped my arm to stop the bleeding. A deep ringing in my ears and a bright white flash awakens from the dark stone and I feel terrifying agony in my gut.

_I hope I get out of here alive..._

* * *

A/N If you already reviewed for the same chapter in the past (Pre redo) then you are unable to review a second time for the same chapter, please just send a PM to me with your review. Thanks! :)

(Update) Also I'm going to be taking a few days off for E3 so it might bee a few more days before ch. 12 comes out.


	12. First Day of School

A/N We're finally getting into AAH.  
Also so everyone knows, I have everything already written down and thought out for Pre-ME1 so this part of Scorpio's story is going to fly by with ease.  
I have a lot of the ME1 installment thought out too so I might just start that one right after this is finished no breaks for me! :)

This chapter ends the re-making of my story for those of you lucky enough to have read the originals. ;)

Anything after this is absolutely new to everyone, so... Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Also I would like to apologize for the week-long delay, the recent storm(s) caused a lot of problems I had to deal with, as well as a few birthday celebrations and such LITERALLY ending up in the deep end, hopefully my schedule can balance out so I can focus on this thing more often. Chapters will be coming either weekly or every four days, whichever works better at the time.

WARNING! EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT AHEAD! If you're not an adult... then why are you still reading this? GO BACK TO THE PLAYGROUND! :)

* * *

A sickening feeling hits me as the bright light flashes twice then dissipates.

_What the hell..._

I fall to my knees and stare at the rusty red carpet in shock as my stomach churns. I heave twice and force whatever was trying to rip a hole in my gut back down out of shear will.

"Take a second to relax, the first time can be... overwhelming." I hear Neril whisper to my right as I slowly stagger back to my feet.

_My head is on fire..._

Rubbing the daze away, I take a deep breath and cough as I feel smoke fill my lungs.

"Careful now, the smoking in here can really light up the place."

Blinking I cover my eyes and wave away the thick black smoke to find a-

"This is our home, your home Kerik welcome back." Neril says ecstatically while raising her arms up in praise. My jaw drops at the sight of what I can't even describe.

I watch in reverent awe as thousands, perhaps tens of thousands or even millions of creatures from all over existence move in rapid harmony around the strangely calm and peaceful center hall. The golden trimmings displaying what each place of grandeur that its massing gates lead to. Banners raised high as I can see displaying the current achievements that define the daily wonders of what can be done. "Wow..." I breath as I take a step down the three steps from the transporter.

"Yes, it is what you expected I'm sure." I look to my left and find a Salarian wearing what I would guess to be formal wear, watching me with a burning hatred in his eyes.

I close my gap and immediately fall into a defensive line of thought while checking what weapons I could find around me, "Yes, quite." I let an uncompromisingly blank expression wash over me to hide anything his gaze seemed to be continuously searching for.

He tilts his head in what I can see as intrigue and speaks to my guide, "Neril, where did you find this... strange specimen?"

Neril simply pushes me to the side and I have to catch myself on one of the red curtains to keep from falling. I hide my blush and turn back to them to see the conversation. "You know me Grelin, always finding those who wish to become a citizen lurking in the dark corners." They look at me strangely for a second and I feel like a mouse among lions for the second time in eight years.

"Yes... well do make sure you find the time to introduce us later, I'm always in the need of more... fascinating subjects." Grelin smiles slightly and holds my gaze for a second longer then appropriate before turning and walking down a dark hallway.

My ears pick up on a small whimper from beside me and I look to find a little hand moving behind the curtain I caught myself on. I raise it slightly to find who it was and blink in shock for a second as the little child backs herself into a corner and hugs her bear closer for protection. I kneel down and move to try and comfort her-

"Careful!" I freeze as I feel Neril whisper into my ear, "This is not a little girl! It's nothing you can fathom, not yet." I look at her out of the corner of my eye and I can see the intense fear and anxiety in her eyes.

_Nothing I can fathom..._

I steel my resolve and turn back to the little girl before examining her more closely. There's nothing out of the ordinary, yet. I keep myself on the defense as I reach out to offer her my hand. "Do you need any assistance little one?" I ask carefully, not wanting to accidentally provoke her. The girl brushes away her soft black locks of hair and looks into my eyes. An overwhelming feeling of dread fills my mind with images of torture, disease, destruction... I take a breath and hold it in as the smoke sharply burns the back of my throat. I cough slightly and shake my head clear to find the girl holding my hand, her own hand dwarfed by my own, I see hope in her eyes and it almost makes me cry. I stand and turn to find Neril gawking at me in shock. "What?" I ask, a bit lost in the slight nostalgia that seems to infest everything around me.

Neril looks at my right side, at the girl, and I feel her shuffle behind me. I cover her little head with my hand to comfort her as Neril watches us in some sort of awe. "I... you... y-you... survived? How...?" She shakes her head and looks at me directly. "You have a gift Kerik, I had almost forgotten how terrifying it was to witness it." I blink at her for a second, trying to contemplate what any of this meant.

_I don't even know where the hell I am! First I'm roaming a nightmarish landscape, and now I'm in some sort of hall with portals to places I don-_

"Daddy?" I nearly jump as I hear the girl speak. I look down and find her holding something out, some sort of glass cylinder. I hold out my hand and let her drop it into my palm. "This is what I found while you were gone." I roll the small cylinder around and watch as the blue liquid inside shifts unnaturally.

_What is this?_

Kneeling down, I show her the cylinder and ask, "Would you like to tell me what's inside this?"

The girl smiles at me and is about to open her mouth- "It's something that doesn't belong to you!" I turn my head to the right and find a crowd of people standing there, holding blunt weapons, watching.

_Oh great, if this is some sort of illusion I'm not having a good time in it. Now that I think about it the girl seems extremely familiar, like watching a dream list away into the cool breeze of the night while I stand in the way, a barrier between what's good and evil in the universe..._

I sigh and discreetly tuck my dagger into the sleeve of the coat I don't remember wearing. The girl smirks as she sees me do so and I press my finger to my lips to signal for her to stay quiet. "Step away from the girl newcomer! She is property of the clan, not yours!" I hear a woman shout behind me.

_Here we go._

I take a breath and stand up slowly. I turn around and look over the crowd, searching for a familiar face, and I find her. I lock eyes with Neril and I can see her caught in a strange battle within herself, help me or go with the crowd.

_It would be poetic if I wasn't about to be beaten to death._

"I do not wish to harm her, I was simply curious." I say with absolute honesty. I watch as the more elderly members of the crowd seem to stare more intently, especially the Asari. "This little girl was cowering in the corner, I comforted her and in return she gave be this cylinder." I hold the cylinder over my head and watch as the crowd seem to only watch it rather than me.

_I'm guessing it's something addictive then. Great, an addictive substance, and a mad crowd wanting to take it from me, great place._

"He stole it from her!"

"He probably forced it from the girl's hand."

"Impossible! Only the last overseer could obtain that power without hurting the girls!"

"Lets kill him for his treachery!"

I watch everyone work towards something I don't want to happen for at least another sixty years and start to panic before the entire crowd goes silent at the sound of heals clicking against marble. I feel the girl take my left hand and look down to find her holding her bear closer.

"Who is this?" Looking up I find a female, covered in dark black clothe so that only her completely black eyes could be seen. The crowd parts as she steps closer to me. I Move my right hand behind me and reach into my sleeve to grasp the hilt of my dagger, but stop as I see Neril shaking her head off to the right and mouthing, 'Don't do anything rash.' in English.

_She knows English? How does she know English?_

The female stops three feet in front of me and as she stops she pounds her left foot, causing everyone in the room to kneel for her and I have a sudden distaste for anything she has to say. "You are new here creature, yet you are not..." I steel my resolve as she examines me. Her eyes stop on my right hand, then dart from the girl, to me and to my hand again, "I see, you stole from this girl-"

"What is known to only two is what is truth, you know not what can be simple from what you wish to see as reality." The little girl says quietly as she squeezes my hand gently, causing me to look at her. "You have returned home Daddy!" I stare at her uncomfortably, unsure how to respond.

Everyone in the room tenses and I look to literally see the realization hit the female's eyes. She immediately bows in respect, "Oh, I did not recognize you sir, please forgive me." Everything starts to shift before my eyes, the curtains burst into flames, the marble and carpet disappear, everything changes in the blink of an eye and I'm left standing there, holding the blue cylinder in my right hand, the girl's petite hand in my left as everyone around me changes into their true form. There true and terrible form.

_Like I thought, illusion._

I look around and see nothing but a dark cave surrounding me, a perfect mirror to the entrance I started at. "Rise everyone, we have found him!" Torches burn brilliant blue around the room and I cringe at the speared corpses lining the walls and drippings of foul liquids that seem to pool around everyone's feet and fill my senses. The entire crowd stands and applauds towards me, some crying, some smiling, a few falling to their knees from the shock. Some part of me awakens at that moment, something I have dreaded since the day I discovered its existence.

"Come, we will speak more in my quarters!" The female, who's real form seemed to be a cloud of dark mist waves her hand for me to follow and I do, stepping forward as quickly as I can while holding the little girl's hand. I look at Neril in the back of the crowd and give her a pleading look as she sends her apology through her eyes right back at me.

_This is becoming greatly disturbing. Why am I here?! Why am I still alive?! What IS here?!_

I pick up the little girl and carry her over a few fresh corpses and up to the stone wall that appeared similar to the door at the entrance. I watch the dark mist collapse for a moment, enough to form an arm and smear the symbol Instantly we're transported into another reality.

"Please, take a seat." I look around the surprisingly spartan office as a door closes behind me quietly.

"Daddy, Daddy look!" I look at the girl as she dashes to the window on my right and I follow her to it.

_Ok, I am definitely going to need a psychiatric evaluation after this._

The swirling shapes and colors blend together vibrantly, but seem to all be a uniform shade of gray, blue, and red all at once. I place a hand on the glass and watch as the surface ripples to my touch, only to solidify into a hard metallic wall instantly...

* * *

The girl sits down in the corner and plays with her teddy while I sit in my chair for the hundred-millionth time and turn to look out at the world I've managed for over a decade now. I cross my talons behind my back, just willing to let it all go if it seemed even slightly possible.

"The fire burns ever-so-much brighter when we notice the darkness, don't you agree father?" I look to my right to find my Turian assistant, Sherry, sitting across from me, fidgeting with her talons nervously, awaiting my judgment.

"Yes, I suppose they do." I spin back to face her. "You do know why you are here today, don't you?"

She nods, sad that she was caught so easily, "I have no excuse father. I-" She chokes out a sob. "I wish I was strong enough to resist."

I feel a conflict inside of me, like hundreds of millions of opinions bleeding together into one voice in an instant, and I plead with them to change their opinion, if only to spare my only daughter. "No."

She starts crying and my little Human girl playing in the corner looks up to watch. "No, you have desecrated everything you have ever wished to accomplish, you will be sentenced to death within six hours Sherry, be gone from here by then or I will rip out your eyes myself!" I feel my heart break, the last of my line was not dead to the world I have come to know and love.

"But father-" I cut her off reluctantly.

"OUT!" The pure hatred in my voice scares her, it scares me, it scares everyone it seems.

_Everyone but her..._

My eyes drift to the small Human girl I rescued and brought here for her own protection.

_She seems immune to my anger, my rage, the inner monster everyone in this reality seems to have dictated as the betrayer himself._

Sherry finally leaves in tears and I feel my heart leave with her, "Daddy what's going to happen to her?" I shake my head, I truly didn't know, I never know...

* * *

I grunt as the flash memory ends and I pull my hand from the rippling surface.

_What happened to cause such an imprint? I can't normally read them... wait... how do I know I can't normally read them? What's happening to me?_

I shake my pounding head clear and turn towards the figure as it sits at its desk. "Please sit Kerik, you earned your seat sir." I look around at the strange, Turian office. The chair, the lamp, the desk, it all seems too familiar, but I know I've never been here before. "You seem conflicted, please... sit... let it all come in time."

I nod and sit down in the comfy leather chair, still wondering where my questions start, and where reality ends. I blink in surprise at the perfect shape of the chair and shift around, feeling overwhelming nostalgia settling in.

_This is really comfy, surprising._

"You must be extremely shocked to be walking in a dream." The figure states calmly, I simply nod, wishing for it to just end already.

"There were signs, and we needed to be sure it was really you, we... apologize for any discomfort you have experienced during your stay here."

I glare at the figure, "Discomfort? DISCOMFORT?! Do you even realize how terrifying it is to wake up SWIMMING in an OCEAN of blood?! To have to use BODY PARTS to paddle to shore?! I thought I had finally lost my mind for fuck's sake! AND YOU THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A SIMPLE DISCOMFORT?!" My knuckles turn white as I grip the arm rests of my chair tightly, panting as my blood finally comes to a boil.

The figure seems to pull back in shock, "We are apologizing for your... experience and only wish to atone for past transgressions!" I grind my teeth as I try to hold back my impulse to bioticly tear apart this... creature.

"I want to talk to Neril..." I growl through bared teeth, "I'M FUCKING DONE DEALING WITH THIS SHIT!" My voice resounds against the walls and forces my ears to ring in protest.

"Alright... I'll... see to it..." The figure, creature, whatever stands from it's seat and walks past me and out through the door.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and rest my head in my palms, "What the hell is going on? Why can't I just wake up from this nightmare and go back to being my normal partially insane self?"

"Oh... what would be the fun in that?" I whip my head around and stare at Neril in slight shock as she kneels beside the little girl and pats her almost motherly.

"I... didn't know you were already here..." I try and hide my blush from getting caught complaining about my life.

Neril stands with a smile and walks over to lean against the desk right in front on me, "So, you wanted to talk with my Kerik?"

I frown at her, "Yes... I want a few questions I have answered." She nods slowly, waiting for me to start. I sigh and rub my eyes, collecting my thoughts for the first time in a while, "Why am I here?" I open my eyes and watch Neril cross her arms, smirking at me for some reason.

"You're here... hmm... how shall I put this?" She taps her chin for a moment, "It would be easier if I told you HOW you are here rather then WHY you are." I raise an eyebrow at her, waiting for an explanation. She sighs and rubs the nape of her neck nervously, "You know about biotics right?"

I nod my head slowly, "I know more then most."

"Then you know about how biotics can manipulate dark energy through the use of eezo nodules found in the spinal column of the individual?" Again I nod. "Good, well... in the Asari culture there are what we call... Natural Biotics. These-"

I stop her, "I know about Natural Biotics Neril, and their connections to the natural energies of the universe that affects anything and everything it touches. I am one of them after all."

She blinks at me for a second, "You? You're a Natural Biotic? But... how did it...? What?"

"I have no idea how... but I was born with a massive amount of dormant eezo nodules in my spinal column, unfortunately they only started acting up when I became enraged at... an individual while he attempted to rape a young Asari girl. As far as my doctor can see, well, I'm the only non-Asari Natural Biotic in existence." I explain plainly.

_I have a feeling I'm not going to hear the end of it anytime soon._

"Uh... ok..." Neril swallows nervously before shaking her head, "It's not important right now, what IS important is that you know what the universe is made out of. You can feel it." She smiles as her eyes roam across my figure.

I snap my fingers to get her attention, "Hey hey! I'm up here."

She shakes her head, "Sorry, got distracted. You must have started to realize by now the difference between certain concentrations of dark energy in the universe?" I stare at her for a second, I had seen some sort of pattern emerging the last time I meditated.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Dark energy is naturally able to come in different forms, the classes of biotics are formed around these differences. Dark Channel for example uses a more unstable form rather than Singularity which uses an extremely stable form." I watch her, following along her train of thought, trying to find the end of the conversation to save time.

I find it and lean forward, completely interested in the possibilities behind the concept, "So you're saying that the three- no four classes of biotics are dominated by two different forms of dark energy that are found naturally in our universe?"

She smiles happily, "Yep, and our minds... the minds of all living creatures in this universe really, can tap into that energy at will if trained well enough."

_The... this is... dark energy... I knew it had a subtle influence on any and all matter in the universe, but to come in different forms so easily... it's just sublime._

I frown as something crosses my mind, "Then how do non-natural biotics use the different forms of dark energy if they aren't attuned enough to the universe to identify the difference?"

Neril crosses her ankles and leans back against the desk, "They usually have to implant two distinct transmitters into their amps to swap between the two forms of energy. The scientists behind the system called it Biotic Transfusion, but it's just the swapping of energy sources."

I tilt my head to the side, "Why are you telling me all this? I mean it's absolutely useful to know about how my biotics work, but..."

She shakes her head, "The reason I'm telling you this is because the two forms of dark energy compete for dominance constantly. This struggle for balance causes rifts in the basic fields of energy that hold the universe together. These rifts allow the... transference of... consciousness between alternate places of existence."

I blink at her in confusion, "Different places of existence? Are you trying to tell me... that we are, at this very moment, in a different universe?"

She sighs in frustration, "No, but... you are close. We- our minds react differently around the two forms of dark energy. When we are... exposed to a massive dose of one type of dark energy... we... can move within the... stream of that universal energy. If that makes any sense."

I frown at her, "So you're saying... that I'm actually still asleep, but my mind is reacting to the enhanced dose of dark energy you gave me... allowing me to... what? Walk around in a separate reality?"

She groans angrily, "No! You're not getting it!" She sighs and runs a hand across her face. "Ok, you, when awake, are here." She holds her hand directly on the desktop. "When you sleep regularly you stay here, you never leave this place." I nod in understanding. "Ok, and anything below this is what the Asari call the Acerbus Infinium, the dark reality." She waves her hand below the desk top and I sigh, still understanding it perfectly. "When your body and mind are exposed to a large amount of what we call negatively charged dark energy, it drifts further towards this dark, nightmarish realm. But if you're exposed to enough of it at once then your mind and body drift apart from one another and your conscious self enters this realm."

My eyes widen at the realization. "So... I'm inside this, Acerbus Infinium, right now?" She nods and I gulp. "Ok, and why am I here?" I ask forcefully, reiterating my original question.

"We aren't done with our lesson yet." I growl at her, but sit back to watch the rest of the explanation. "This area has been known by the Asari culture for only a few thousand years, it's a place of horror where people can go mad from simply trying to enter it. A lot of the nightmares you have been having lately resulted from your sensitivity to the dark energies of the universe." I stare at her in shock.

_Well that makes sense... I think._

"Wait, what about the other side? All this area above the... normal universe?" I ask while waving my hand around above the desktop.

Neril smiles, "This is what the Asari like to call... Eternity." My eyes widen. "This is what the original Athame doctrine declared to be the afterlife, until we realized it was just another place for our superior minds to wander as we slept. Some Asari Matriarchs, well, most matriarchs, like to think of it as a place to store all the knowledge of the universe. Kind of like a... master library for them to tap into when they seek answers to unsolved questions."

_That could be extremely useful._

"How do I get there?" I ask enthusiastically.

Neril shakes her head, "Only a few really know how to enter it without killing themselves. It's a lot harder to enter than Acerbus Infinium. It requires decades, if not centuries of meditation and planning to even gain a small foothold in it. I only know of three recent Matriarchs that have actually been there before and only two of them survived."

I watch her carefully and say resolutely, "I want to learn, who are they?"

Neril sighs, "I'm going to regret this... Matriarch Benesia and High Priestess Ardania, the third was Ardania's sister, and she... disappeared shortly after entering."

_Matriarch Benesia? Wow, that explains how powerful she is, not just bioticly, but diplomatically._

"What happened?"

Neril shakes her head, "No-one knows. Her body turned up in her bed a week later, covered with strange markings. That's when the project was destroyed and the participates disbanded. That was... just over eighty years ago now. No-one has EVER dared to enter Eternity ever since. Every once in a while a Matriarch brings it up with the inner chambers of the Order of Athame, but the High Priestess ALWAYS shoots the proposal down."

_Hmm... that's strange. It's cautious, but the benefits might outweigh the costs._

"What does it take to enter Eternity." I ask again.

Neril glares at me, "Didn't I just tell you that it was forbidden, no, not even forbidden, too dangerous to even THINK about entering?"

I finally stand, sick and tired of not knowing what was happening. "I know, I don't care, I'd rather know and not need it then need it and not know it Neril." She stares at me angrily, determined to keep quiet about it. "Well?"

"Well what? What are you waiting for, I'm not going to tell you." She crosses her arms and glares at me. "Besides, it's not the only thing that's important around here."

"What are you talking about?" I ask angrily.

"You are the savior of this realm Kerik." She says with reverent awe.

"I don't even know why the HELL I'm even here!" I shout out of frustration.

Neril sighs and is about to speak when she freezes. I watch her for a moment before I feel it too. A slow buzzing on the edge of my spine, slowly creeping up towards my head. "We need to die, right now."

I focus on her, "What?"

She looks at me with determination, "I'll see you when you wake up." She pulls out a knife and quickly thrusts it into my chest as she hugs me and whispers, "I'm sorry."

* * *

All feeling returns to my body as I finally feel normal again. I groan as I try and take in a deep breath and find it hard to breath.

_What the hell..._

Looking down at myself I blink the sleep from my eyes and freeze as I notice an Asari laying on-top of me, still fast asleep.

_Oh my god..._

I shift around slightly to find that, yep, I'm completely naked... in bed... with an Asari.

...

_What. The. Fuck. Did I do last night?_

She stirs from her sleep and I freeze as she looks up at m-

...

_Oh what the hell!_

"Neril?" I ask in shock.

She blinks and shifts comfortably, "Yes?"

...

"Why are we naked?"

She blinks once before smiling almost seductively. "You know why big guy." She lifts her fingers up and starts to draw swirls on my bare chest.

I lock my jaw and try to forget what she was doing as I speak, "Why are we in bed together? Did we...?" I frown as I remember her knocking be out with a syringe the night before. "Wait... you didn't..." She pauses mid swirl and stares at me.

...

_OH MY GOD SHE RAPPED ME._

I stare at her in utter shock, disbelief, disgust, confusion, suspicion, exasperation, exhaustion, etc, etc, etc. "You... didn't... rape me did you?" Her face goes cold.

...

I wait for her to respond.

...

But she doesn't.

...

_Oh my god she raped me._

Finally, she smiles wickedly and shifts her waist against my exposed groin before rolling off of me and laying down next to me, not saying a damn thing. I'm so shocked by the realization that I don't respond as she snuggles up against me. I feel her breast against my arm. Her leg snakes its way around mine to rub against my inner thigh and I close my eyes to try and block out how... arousing it felt. "Would you mind if I had round two?" I feel her hot breath on my neck as she whispers to me.

_I am not going to play this game..._

She rubs my chest, I shut my eyes tighter and grind my teeth.

_She's a stranger, she's a stranger, she's a-_

"Mmm... have I ever told you how soft your skin is?" I swallow cautiously as she snakes her arms around my torso. I move my arms out of the way to avoid them getting caught under our combined body weight.

_Why can't I just throw her off?_

A small voice in the back of my head answers, _because it's not polite to do so_.

_Screw being polite! She possibly rapped me!_

"Uh..."

I try to speak, but she presses a finger to my lips, "Shh... I didn't rape you Scorpio. I merely wish to give you an offer..." Her voice pierces into my brain like a harmony you can't get out of your head.

"W-What offer?" I ask carefully, not daring to open my eyes.

I feel her press her lips to the nape of my neck and I stifle a groan by biting my tongue. She kisses a trail up my neck and stops just before my lips, "Open your eyes and see." I hesitate, trying to find an excuse to toss her aside politely, some way to just get her away from me, but my barriers fail me. I open my eyes to lock with her own. I read her like an open book, the dilated pupils, the rapid, shallow breaths, the permanent smile pulling at her lush violet lips. I run through logically what she wants and it makes sense, but I can't formulate an answer, I'm speechless. "I don't have to beg for it now do I?" She purrs.

I swallow and notice how dry my throat is, "I... am unexperienced." I manage to choke out. I feel my heart trying to beat out of my chest.

"That's alright." She moves in closer, our lips almost touching, "So am I..." I feel my arms wrap around her thin waist, I feel the strange texture of her skin with my fingertips and see her lips part in pleasure.

I'm at war with my own libido, but I manage to halt my progress up the small of her back to ask, "What is this?"

She pouts that I stopped, but answers gently, "I wish to feel you... if anything else comes from this later, then let it be."

My voice dies in my throat and I continue my exploration across her strange landscape. She hums in appreciation. Every nerve ending in my body is tingling, every sense heightened as we carefully explore each other's alien bodies. In my head I know the exact explanation why, an inborn primal urge that nature has given us to feel immense pleasure from even the thought of sexual contact. A reward for trying to pass our genes along to the next generation, natural selection at it's finest.

Neril gasps as I find a soft spot in the crevices of her crests. "Scorpio..." She breaths as her eyes turn black. "...Embrace Eternity!" I feel something pressing on the edge of my mind and close my eyes to try and focus in on it. Instantly I feel her thoughts become my own and mine hers, Hundreds of millions of stories, billions of events, secrets able to be plucked with ease.

"Scorpio! Oh Goddess!" Neril shouts as she lowers herself onto me.

I become blind to the outside world as my inner consciousness separated from my outer self.

Neril gasps in intense pleasure and I hear my own voice growl with want.

_This is... interesting._

I focus on Neril's memories somehow and realize I was walking down a white hallway filled with books.

_Wow... there're so many..._

Out of the corner of my consciousness I feel our lips lock intensely and stay focused on the hall of memories I seem to be in.

_Hundreds if not thousands of experiences..._

I'm vaguely aware of us flipping over on my bed as I thumb through a childhood memory of Neril playing with her mother in a pool. Shes laughing and jumping up and down in the shallow water, having the time of her life.

"OH!" I'm not sure which of us moan, maybe both of us. I keep my inner self focused on her mind as I feel us getting closer and closer to climax.

_I need to hurry, I don't have a lot of time._

I shelf the book and search the walls for what I wanted, what I needed.

_Come on, come on, come on._

I start running as tension builds outside.

_THERE!_

I see the book in the distance, the one that could lead me to Eternity. I freeze in place and close my eyes, I was too late.

"*GASP* SCORPIO!"

"NERIL!" I feel every muscle in our bodies tense and all the tension is released in one massively pleasurable orgasm...

We stay there, enjoying the spasms for a moment longer before I almost collapse on-top of her and quickly push to the right and fall off the bed. *THUMP* "Ow!" I lay there, on the carpeted floor, in a complete daze from the afterglow.

I hear Neril giggling above me, "Whoa!" She breaths as rolls off the bed and lands on-top of me. I grunt as our naked and sweaty bodies smack together. We watch each other for a moment, simply enjoying the strange feelings of our thoughts still lingering in each other's minds.

_You want to go out some time? Get some breakfast maybe?_ Neril thinks.

I blink at her in surprise.

_You don't think we need to get dressed first? Maybe take a shower?_ I respond, half-joking.

She giggles lightly.

_A shower sounds nice... you ready for another round?_ I pick up on her lingering, and extremely strong libido with her thought and smile involuntarily. I almost comment internally about how it could give me another chance before switching it instantly.

_Sure... it's pretty cramped in there, but I think we can manage._

Her eyes finally blend back to normal and I feel her leave my mind completely. "Oh we can manage... but I'm tired." She rolls off of me and I'm grateful for the lack of pressure on my abdomen. "Huh, this carpet is pretty comfortable." She comments while I notice I'm staring at her naked form.

"Uh... yeah, I never really noticed before, but it IS pretty soft." I brush my hand across the thick polyester carpet and suddenly realize how naked I really am. I blush uncomfortably.

Neril laughs, "Now, now... no need to be embarrassed. You should be proud, you blew our conjoined minds! Even though we've never actually had any practice before, you seemed... assertive, attentive, knowledgeable." She gives me an all-knowing look and my face feels like it's on fire.

"Ok? Um... I... researched... some things..." I say really really quietly, trying to avoid having a long conversation about my personal life.

"Oh, I know... you had more than enough memories, or at least, thoughts about what you wanted to do to me." Neril smirks wildly as she sits up, her small breasts bouncing perfectly in the dim light. "Did you really hack into the security systems of the laundry room to try and find footage of me naked?"

"No I-" I stop myself before I say something crazy.

_What? I tried to check whether I was going insane by cross-referencing footage of our encounter with my memories?_

"Don't look so guilty Scorpio." She stands up and holds out her hand to help me up. I stare at the Prothean markings on the back of her hand as it faintly glows purple before taking her hand and standing up. "You seem confused." She asks, breaking me from my thoughts.

"I... was wondering..." I try and start while failing to ignore my nakedness.

"Yes?" She wraps her arms around me and leans forward, making her eyes the center of attention.

"I... was wondering if you could tell me about the tattoo on your hand." I say quietly, still distracted by... well... her.

She smirks and surprises me with a quick kiss on the lips, "It's the mark of Acerbus Infinium, no-one knows what it truly represents, but you know whether you need to return there if it starts creeping up your arm at night."

I tentatively wrap my arms around her, "So its a calling card for ranking officials in Acerbus Infinium?" I fight with my inner self as I kiss her back, just as sweet and comforting as the one I received.

Her eyes droop and I feel her start to loose the fight with herself, so I let go and locate my armor thrown about the room, along with her clothes.

_Huh, I'll have to ask her what actually happened when she medically knocked me out. Wait... she's calling me Scorpio._

"Why aren't you calling me Kerik?" I ask while I pull up the lower section of my under-suit.

She slips on her panties and scoffs, "WE just had SEX and your wondering what name I screamed at the top of my lungs? Your name IS Scorpio isn't it?"

"Well... yeah, but I was just curious as to why you, and everyone else in... the other realm, were calling me Kerik." I say while zipping up the rest of my under-suit and slipping on the leggings of my armor.

She slips on her pants and stares at me for a moment silently before shrugging, "It was a misunderstanding. Something about a prophecy, and some other things you don't need to know about."

I stop and cross my arms at her, "Neril."

She sighs, "Kerik was the founder of our little... I guess you'd probably call us a cult. He lead us, kept us safe while exploring our urges in Acerbus Infinium. We all loved him like a father."

I slip on my boots and lock the lower half of my suit in place, "What happened to him?"

Neril stops struggling with her zipper and sighs, "He died. At Shanxi during your species first contact with the Turians."

"He was a Turian?" I ask, already knowing the answer for some reason.

She nods as she finally zips up her pants, "He died at the hands of a Human. When we finally found him, years later, we found something scratched into his armor." She looks up at me, "A Scorpion and our cult's insignia. His last audio recording told us that his father was going to be murdered by his successor, the man wearing that symbol." Neril points to my dagger as I am about to place it in it's housing.

I look at it and close my eyes, realizing what was going on. "His father was the Turian general I killed trying to save the Asari child a few weeks ago."

Neril confirms my assumption with a small nod. "Once we heard about it, we were ecstatic! We couldn't wait to finally have a respectable leader again! That... woman you saw? The one with the cloak? She took over after Kerik died and will do anything to keep her place in the order. Even kill you."

I swallow involuntarily, "She would kill me because of a coincidence?"

Neril smiles sadly, "You are the hero of that prophecy, a prophecy spoked by the people's last leader. They will respect you immensely because of that." She points at my chest, "That's why the top three of the order bought you that suit. To keep you alive long enough for us to kick Marillin out. We also paid your medical bills in full, as well as pushed for your enrollment into AAH. You'll be safe there."

I glare at her, "Don't I have any say in this? I never wanted to get involved in cults and murders, I just want a normal life!"

_Until 2180 or so at least._

Neril frowns at me as she slips on her shirt, "Well, get used to it. As long as my people believe you're Kerik's successor, you WILL be in terrible danger."

"I... *sigh* Fine, fine, but I need information, tools, maybe some biotic tricks you could teach me, anything to keep me guarded in the mean time. If you haven't noticed I've had more than five brushes with death since I landed on Thessia." I comment reluctantly. "And that was just in the last two weeks! If people are actually going to start to TRY and kill me..." I shake my head. "I'm going to need to be extremely prepared for when they do."

"No shit." Neril comments seriously.

I take a deep breath and seal the rest of my suit up as I flip my hood up. "System Diagnostic running..."

"You need to be on the top of your toes, tip of your toes? Whatever, point is you need to be careful." Neril lectures while I stare at the slow progress bar while conserving oxygen by holding my breath.

_Come on, come on..._

...

"Diagnostic complete." I breath out in relief and let the Co2 scrubber kick in.

"Are you listening Scorpio?" Neril asks angrily.

"Yes, more careful, more weapons practice, more meditating. No more walking home, I have to stay indoors as much as possible, and you want to have the Thessian sunfish for breakfast." I recite from memory. The HUD display activates and focuses onto Neril's surprised face, "What? I have a good memory."

She shakes her head and sighs, "Just remember, Marillin is watching you."

"Yep, and you're going to stay right on-top of it I'm sure." She smirks at the unintended implication. "You know what I mean." I shake my head at her urges. "*Sigh* Ok, I'll get started on breakfast, you... go masturbate or something. I've got my first class at AAH today and don't want to be late." She smirks at me again and I face-palm as I hear what I just said.

_Fuck me..._

* * *

Once again I suffered the horrors of the Armali Rapid Transit System and released my death-grip on the now torn leather seat only AFTER we finally stop and park in the student parking lot. "Wow, you really hate the ARTS don't you." Neril comments happily.

"Shut it!" I bark back.

_I am not in the mood!_

"Whatever. Just remember, don't wander, Marillin could have her eyes and ears all over this place." Neril warns me as I step out of the skycar.

"Yeah, just try and calm down. I doubt she'd try to kill me inside an Academy for top-level Huntresses... or maybe she would. You know what. I'm going to just ignore it until it happens." I comment before turning towards the first building.

"*Scoff* I'm surprised you haven't been assassinated yet..." I hear Neril mutter before taking off back towards the apartment building to set up some defenses.

_I swear that woman is going to be the death of me one of these days._

I forget about Neril, cultists, and alternate realities, and walk forwards towards a massive building displaying original Thessian architecture and some form of extreme gardening as everything was either made out of glass or green.

_This place is amazing... I swear the entire place is at least five square miles in size!_

I walk up to a holo-map and download a copy for LIA to tinker with. "Thank you Scorpio."

"Your welcome LIA."

_She's really starting to become a bit self-aware, I'll have to talk to Seila about that. It would be nice to have a sentient helper rather than another Siri._

I bring up the map. The grounds consist of three domed buildings, each with its own separate communications signal and purpose. After some consideration I decide to just walk around for a bit since my class didn't start for another hour. _  
_

Taking a stone path to the left, I make my way over to building one, curious about what _Integrated Situational Simulation_ meant.

_Probably some type of indoor training grounds._

"It has its own water supply and power systems for the training rooms. It can simulate nearly two dozen toxic and hostile environments with equally hostile enemies and animals for each." I read quietly from the digital brochure I downloaded on the ride over.

_Huh, so that's what it means. Kind of reminds me of the Colosseum._

I stop as I step out of the foliage and find the entire building surrounded by biotic sports that I don't recognize. "Heads up!" Out of some sort of instinct from all the years of bullies chucking crap at me I turn and quickly catch a metal ball as its hurled into my gut, knocking me on my ass.

"Ow..." I set the surprisingly heavy metal bowling ball off to the side and grasp the Asari's hand that threw it at me.

"I'm SO sorry! I thought you were Jaleen!" She holds my shoulders as I regain my balance.

"No problem, *cough* I'm used to having big metal balls thrown at the speed of sound into my gut." I state sarcastically.

She stays quiet and I look up to find almost everyone had stopped what they were doing and started watching me. "You're the Human that's a Natural Biotic aren't you." One Asari on my right states.

I shift left and right, testing my balance. "Yeah, I'm here to learn about my biotics."

The Asari scoffs, "Really? I heard you were looking for another Matriarch to kiss-up to."

I keep my expression stone cold as eight of the ten Asari burst out laughing.

_Great... this is going to be a repeat of middle school isn't it?_

"Whether or not I gained favor from a Matriarch by saving her only daughter from being brutally RAPPED is irrelevant, I am willing to learn and master my biotics and no-one is going to dissuade me from doing so." The last two Asari smile at me and I finish my small speak, "Good day, I hope all of you will succeed in all your endeavors." I bow respectfully and skip building one for now.

"Hey! You want to toss it back?" I stop in my tracks and turn around to find everyone watching me expectedly.

"Certainly." I smile and focus my biotics on the metal ball before lifting it into the air carefully and thrusting my hand towards it, throwing it at twice the speed it hit me with, and directly at the Asari that mocked me. She yelps and dives into the cement as three other Asari bioticly catch it before it can move out of court. I turn around and calmly walk back onto the stone path, not caring to look back to see the shock on their faces.

_I've got to avoid more problems, that was strangely exhausting. No more showing off to bullies._

I take a deep breath of the humid, tropical air and smile as it calms my mood instantly.

Opening my eyes, I quickly step out of the way of a grounds keeper escorting two massive Varren using her biotics. One growls at me while the other seems indifferent. I lock eyes with the first and give it my best, 'don't fuck with me' glare. It doesn't even flinch and just continues to growl. "Looks like he likes you." The Asari states sarcastically. I shrug and move on.

As I approach the second building I notice most of the grounds were taken up by the natural habitats that, by the brochure, was surprisingly acclimated to multiple DNA types. After first contact with the Turians.

_Seems foolish since the amount of basic maintenance for a site this big would be enormous. One simple contamination of soil or water and an entire crop is either death, or mutated beyond recovery._

"The wine and tea produced from the herbs grown in these habitats is shipped around the galaxy, some find it so rare they spend their whole lives growing the rare fruits and plants its refined from." I look left and nod at one of the grounds keepers, a violet-skinned Asari, as we admire the massive orchard of reds, blues, and greens in awe.

"It's so, beautiful!" I breath in exuberance. The entire Academy so far seemed to create an air of tranquility I never thought to be even remotely possible. It was like everything outside was a dream and this was the true reality. I internally scoff at how many alternate realities I've visited lately.

_At least I'm finding solace in this one. I knew the academy was around for a long time but to produce their own wines and teas? It's too bad this place is only going to last for a few more years, damn Reapers._

An automated sprinkler systems activates, shooting water into the air, filling the entire building with mists that form into a continuous rainbow as the water droplets flow through the bright sunlight on the clear Thessian day. She and I sigh in contentment together for a moment, then turn to go our separate ways. I take one last look back at the fields and smile before moving back onto the path and towards the third, and last building.

_This place is worth the 200,000 credits a year! It's its own little utopia! I should build one of these some day, maybe to hold the refuges left over from the Reaper war in... wow, it's 2171 so the Reapers won't invade for another thirteen years or so... sheesh, I've got some time to do it then._

I smile and archive the thought away as I follow another stone path up to the third building. As I enter through two massive glass doors and into the huge building I notice the strangely high amount of foliage and flowers growing everywhere. Hundreds of exotic specimens labeled for their respectable planets of origin.

_I wonder who maintains all these plants._

The answer comes in the form of a young Asari girl turning the corner and ever so carefully trimming one of the rarer flowers. I walk up to stand next to her and study the plant in fascination. "A Thessian _Snowburst_, originating on the south peaks of the _Eastern Republics._" She comments almost motherly as she prunes the flower to perfection. It's delicate white and bright yellow petals glow a strangely luminescent blue as it basks in the mid-morning sunlight that seems to peek in from skylights overhead. "The eezo-rich soil this flower grows in gives it special properties to biotics. When biotics digest one of its petals, their abilities are super-charged and senses heightened. It's also a natural aphrodisiac in Asari." Her soft voice flutters from the wisps of biotic energy tugging at her hand as the beautiful flower glowed brightly. "Oh where are my manners," She stands to greet me and stops to gawk at me for a moment. "Um, I think you are in the wrong place Human." Her spotted brow creases into a sharp scowl and I frown at her in response before waking past her and over to the flower.

"I belong here Asari." I close my eyes and feel the tickling sensation of the flower's biotics sweeping against my skin. A content sigh escapes my lips as the strangely familiar sensation brings a smile to my face.

"*gasp* That's amazing! I've never seen Leliana react that way to anyone who wasn't an Asari before!" The Asari girl exclaims with excitement.

I open my eyes and to see multiple tendrils of biotic energy flowing between my hand and the now brightly shimmering flower. "This is... interesting." I feel myself grin as I step back after bending the flower's biotics with my own for a moment.

I turn to face her properly and she smiles brightly before bowing to me, "I apologize Human, you do belong here. May the Goddess watch over you." Before I can offer her my name, she walks away, most likely to attend to her other duties.

_I should start a little garden at the apartment, it would work wonders with my meditations if I found the right herbal supplements to hone my biotic focus._

I look back at the plant for a moment, wondering how expensive it was before shaking my head at the idea and deciding I should get to class soon. I walk past the dozens of gyms dedicated to biotic training, looking for my destination.

_And everything is in Asari._

"LIA where is-" I double-check the room. "Biotic gym 11, Instructor: Matriarch Aethyta"

"You are standing right outside of it Scorpio." I look up at the wall next to me and find a digital display showing that it was indeed Biotic gym 11 and is definitely under the care of one Matriarch Aethyta.

_Oh... well... good._

"Thanks." I take a deep breath and type in the code Matriarch Lidanya sent right before I arrived, the door opens to the sound of crackling static electricity and before I can find the source my muscles tense and I'm pulled into the room bioticly.

I get over the initial shock after a half second of floating and spot a ball of blue flying towards me. It takes no time for me to bend my body out of it's path only to find it turn towards me at the last second, shattering my shields in a moderate biotic explosion that pops my ears.

"Son of a bitch!" I roll onto my back and quickly jump out of the way of a singularity, still unsure who the hell's attacking me.

Out of the corner of my eyes I spot two balls of biotic energy turning towards me at massive speeds and make a quick decision.

_Ok, forcing your barrier outwards into a dome is-_

I internally swear as I run out of time and throw my arms out while separating my legs slightly. Thankfully my biotics respond accordingly and the two warps simply detonate outside of the field. The concussive blast kicks me in the chest and I'm forced to collapse my barrier down to just above my shields. I groan at the exertion, and the substantial burning along my spine. Not wishing to overload my biotics again, I draw my pistol and fire on the lone Asari standing in the center of the gym, she doesn't even flinch as her barrier shines brightly, not letting my rounds through. Diving for cover behind a conveniently placed barrel, I call out to her, "Who are you?" She doesn't respond and I... feel something else inside the room besides us. I focus on it and have to vault over my cover to avoid getting ripped apart by a heavy warp. the thin metal screeches and protests against the tearing of it's matter. "I'm not here to harm anyone! I'm here for a class with biotic instructor Matriarch Aethyta!" I announce.

All I get back is hysterical laughter... "HAHAHAHAHA!"

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..._

I realize my spine was recovering and take a chance. Pooling stable biotic energy into my palm, I stand out of cover for one entire second to aim and launch the throw directly at my second assailant. I notice it's about to miss and flick my eyes towards the Asari only to be surprised by the small ball of blue as it re-directs and slams directly into the Asari. I almost cheer with excitement that I used a concentrated throw before noticing that it only staggered her and diving back into cover to avoid getting vaporized by another heavy warp.

_God damn it._

I take a second to pull up my mask and hood before letting my suit's HUD pinpoint my two enemies for me. "LIA do a bio scan!" I shout while focusing more power into my barrier to block a few shots that made it through my cover.

_I've got to move._

I don't wait for her to respond before I close my eyes and let my biotics parallel themselves to the amount of dark energy inside the room, energizing them back to their full power. I jump out of cover and push a two-wave shockwave at the Asari on my left while firing at the other as I sprint towards another piece of cover, this time a metallic table, which I quickly knock over and use for cover. I breath deeply from my enhanced adrenaline focus and turn out of cover after two seconds to grab hold of the leaking barrel of hopefully explosive material I was originally hiding behind and chucking it into the air just above the now regrouped Asari. I grit my teeth and steady my aim, firing one, two, then three shots into the barrel I thank whatever god or goddess is watching over me as it explodes... violently...

_Oh, mother of-_

The wall of fire covers the two Asari and I have to throw up a barrier dome again to block the brunt of the flames. I push all my energy into it and keep myself attuned to the universe as best I can, surprisingly I don't feel my spine burning at all as I hold the half-sphere around me. I take a chance and open my eyes to see the two Asari firing assault rifles at my barrier, but nothing gets through.

_Huh, I guess I DO have some strong biotics._

My eyes widen as I recognize the older Asari as Matriarch Aethyta. She and I lock eyes and she just glares at me strangely while smiling.

_Well... shit._

"Bio scan complete, Identification: Matriarch Aethyta." I nearly groan as I hear LIA's voice in my ear.

I ignore her and slowly pull my dome back towards myself, trying to fake running out of energy. They take the bait and I drop the dome under my shields as a back-up barrier while panting on my hands and knees. "LIA, arm two overloads." I whisper while the two approach.

I look up to find both of them smirking in victory. "You ready to surrender yet?" Aethyta's companion states smugly.

I lower my head slowly, waiting for the right moment. Aethyta shakes her head, "Well, I expected more out of you kid, it looks like-" *beep* I fire both overloads into their barriers, weakening them substantially enough for them to stagger back in shock.

I stand carefully as I holster my pistol and gather two orbs of biotic energy into my hands. "I never surrender." I state joyfully before closing my eyes and thrusting the two orbs together to form what Neril calls The Dark Inferno something I picked up from a quick mind-meld before we left the apartment. The two unstable balls of biotic energy shred at anything around them with ease, and when combined with a biotic dome...

The two Asari watch me carefully, wondering what I was doing. Thrusting my arms out, I use the unstable blast of biotic energy to become my dome, turning it into a storm of biotic energy, the eye of the storm, centered around me. I watch in silent awe as the force of the dark energy imbalance forces small objects to be ripped apart completely.

_Guide the energy outwards to stabilize the dark energy concentration in the area..._

I hear Neril's guiding voice in my mind and I do as she says, guiding the energy until it re-stabilizes enough to be directly converted back into dark energy. I drop my arms and burst my dome, throwing all the energy out in a huge throw field. Aethyta holds her own barrier around herself and her companion to protect them as the shear mass of energy ripples through everything, searing the floors, lighting anything flammable on fire, nearly cracking the foundation.

"Holy shit..." I breath as I stand there in absolute awe at how powerful the blast was. It decimated nearly all cover in the entire 225 square meter gym. Aethyta and her companion lower their barrier as the smoke clears and they stare at me in frightful shock for a moment. I blush out of guilt, "Uh... sorry. I kind of over did it I think." Aethyta's face stays as cold as stone while her companion stares, slack-jawed, directly at me as if... well... I just blew up their entire gym. The sprinkler system activates, pouring gallons of water down onto our heads. Aethyta just stares at me, unmoving, while the room starts to fill up with water. "Sorry." I apologize sheepishly.

* * *

_We ended up having to move the class to another gym. Aethyta still hasn't talked to me yet. And I found out that her companion was actually the top student of the class I was joining. So... yeah... she requested a transfer. Thankfully I wasn't charged with anything other than a warning not to do it again._

"Scorpio huh." I blink as I'm tossed out of my thoughts as I meditated on a blue biotic orb suspended over my lap. I open my eyes without breaking concentration to find the Asari from outside that tried and failed to pick on me is standing there uncomfortably.

"Yeah, it's what I go by." I respond carefully.

"I heard about what you did." She says as I close my eyes again.

"I know, you're standing there in front of me because of it." I say flatly.

"I... wanted to apologize, for what I did before. It was unprofessional and a bit cruel." I open my eyes in shock.

"Uh... thanks?" She nods and I feel guilt pulling at my heart once again, "Sorry about almost taking your head off with that metal ball. It was uncalled for."

The Asari nods again and smiles, "Apology accepted." I smile and close my eyes to go back to meditating in the center of what I assume is a wrestling ring.

"Hey, do you want to play?" I blink my eyes open to look at her like she had just grown a mustache and called me Roger.

"Uh... play what?" I ask, completely confused. She points to the outline of the ring around us. "Oh... well... I'm not even sure I'm allowed to be here anymore after what happened in the other gym."

She laughs, "No, you're fine! Seriously." I shake my head at her. "No really, you actually broke a school record with that biotic eruption!"

"Uh... I did?"

She nods happily, "Oh yeah, you actually broke Aethyta's old record for total destruction of a biotic gym when she trained here all those years ago."

"I did?" I ask while raising an eyebrow.

_I thought Aethyta didn't become a commando?_

The Asari crosses her arms, "Yeah, Aethyta actually quit her full scholarship and took off after that."

_Oh... ok._

"Strange... what was her old record?" I ask, now reluctantly giving up on my meditations for the time being.

The Asari grins, "Total destruction in 10.17 seconds." I blink.

_I actually beat that?_

"What was my time?" I ask curiously.

The Asari laughs, "You threw her record out the window! 3.02 seconds! I never thought I'd see the day that she'd get bested at destroying a teaching environment! HAHA!" I sheepishly fake-laugh for a small bit before stopping completely, hoping I don't get kicked out on the first day.

_Why did I take Neril's advice?! I wasn't ready for something so... powerful!_

I sigh and lower my head in annoyance.

_Why can't I just stop being... me? I mean what was I trying to prove by using THAT!_

"Heads up!" I instinctively form a biotic dome around us and wince as something big slams into the barrier, causing my spine to sear with heat.

I look at the thrower as I drop the dome and find Aethyta standing there, in Commando armor, grinning wildly at me. "WEll, stand up kid!" I stand, wondering what was going on. She starts running towards me before bioticly lifting the metal ball and spinning in a strange form. she bioticly kicks the ball directly at me.

"FUCK" I reach out and slow the ball to a stop just before it could take off my head.

I look past it to see Aethyta still grinning. "Well?"

"Well what?" I respond.

"WELL... are you going to celebrate your victory or not?!" I stare at her in confusion.

"Wait... you mean he-?" The Asari says before Aethyta cuts her off.

"Yep, for the first time since I started working here, trying to instill some common fucking sense into some snot nosed kids, someone beat me at my own game." Aethyta declares happily.

...

_Oh..._

"Holy shit." I mutter in shock. I stare at Aethyta sheepishly before asking, "So... what are we going to do to cerebrate?"

She smirks, "Well first I'm getting some payback, then we can go out for drinks and live it up." I gulp. "Now ready yourself, because I play a MEAN Bio-Ball!

_Oh... fuck me..._

* * *

Dropping to my stomach for the thousands time, I dodge the metal ball of death just as it scrapes against the back of my hood, nearly ripping it off my head. Hold still already!"

I jump up to toss the ball back through the middle ring just above Aethyta's head. "FUCK YOU!" The solid metal bowling ball is hurled at two hundred miles per hour directly at Aethyta's head, causing her to duck, and me to score. I raise my hands in the air in elation as I finally managed to score a freaking goal. "Son of a bitch Aethyta you play a mean Bio-Ball." I comment as I jump off my two square foot platform and land softly twenty feet down on a compression sheet to absorb any miss-steps.

"Think fast!" I duck as the metal ball flies over my head and into the concrete wall, denting it for the thousandth time.

I turn to glare at Aethyta, "That's still not funny!" I freeze as I notice she's bioticly spinning three of them over her palm with a wicked look on her face.

_Oh fuck I'm going to die._

I see my extremely boring life flash before my eyes as all three of them fly at me at super-sonic speed. I barely hit the deck in time before they impact the wall behind me, causing small chunks of cement to fall on-top of me. I uncover my head and look up as I see Aethyta standing over me, grinning like the cruel, cruel woman she is. "Son of a bitch Aethyta! you know how much that scared me?! My life flashed before my eyes!"

She snickers, "What did you think of it?"

I stop brushing pieces of cement and dust off my armor and look at her, "Not much actually, a lot of videogames, a couple of movies, and more then enough near-death experiences to last me a FEW lifetimes."

She pats me on the back and leads me out of the courtyard, "Well, don't worry kid, you'll be having a whole lot more of those before I'm through with ya." She laughs happily while I gulp, knowing she wasn't joking. She settles down as we get back to building three and says, "You know kid, I used to know some KROGAN that would shit themselves if I told them I'd be teaching them, but you just waltz into my gym, blow it to hell, and make ME shit myself." She slaps me on the back, "HAHA! Kid you have a Quad!" She punches my arm bioticly, and I think she almost broke a bone.

I roll my shoulder to loosen it, "Thanks, I guess I'm going to be alright then?"

She stops in the middle of the hallway. I look back at her and see her expression, it's completely serious, "Kid, you could KILL Matriarchs with that kind of power. You are either going to become so adept at your powers that the High Priestesses THEMSELVES are going to assassinate you to keep you from overcoming them, or you'll blow yourself up. I would rather see you kick the living shit out of the priestesses myself, but it's your decision." I snort a laugh. "In all seriousness though, watch yourself. I've seen too many of my students just up and die from either stupidity, or political assassination."

I take her hand and shake it, "Thanks for the advice Aethyta, see you tomorrow?"

She smirks and grips my hand tightly before pulling me in for a quick kiss on the lips, she whispers, "You bet your sweet ass you'll see me tomorrow." And turns to walk away from me.

...

_What just hell happened?"_

...

I stare, dumbfounded for the first time in my life, at her retreating form as she purposely sways her hips for dramatic effect.

...

_Ok... I'm screwed._

Shaking my head, I-

_Fuck it I need something to drink._

Turning towards the nearest exit I have LIA call a cab for me as I fail to block out how I just KISSED LIARA'S FATHER ON THE LIPS and I fly over to the nearest coffee shop I can find... to order something strong enough to keep me distracted from what just happened.

"Thanks." I nod to the cashier and silently step through the small crowd and sit down at a dark booth in the corner.

_I think that this is the most disturbing thing that's happened to me in a LONG time. I'm fine with hallucinations, jumping into other realms, talking to fucking EVIL FISH, but this one..._

I stop myself from thinking about it any further and take a searing sip of my Thessian-brewed coffee, I force it down painfully, hoping it would distract me from what just happened.

...

_Nope, still remember it._

I sigh and bang my head twice on my table-top before chugging the rest of the coffee, hoping it would just, go. away. forever.

...

_Its never going away._

...

_I'm going to have to live forever with the fact that I kissed Liara's father aren't I?_

...

I order three more cups and sit back down, "Scorpio?" I freeze as I'm sitting.

_No... it can't be..._

I look up, and surely, Liara is standing right there.

Yep it can be.

"H-heeeeey Liara." I smile uncomfortably and she sits across from me in the small booth.

"Hello Scorpio, huh, that rings... anyways I am glad that I caught you, I have something I wish to talk to you about." Liara seems oblivious to what I'm reliving in my head right now.

"Oh yeah? What?"

I want to die... I really could just die right now and I'd be fine with it.

"The University approved my request for funding! I'm going on the expedition to Detriop!" Liara states with equal excitement and... sadness?

_OH THANK GOD! Something to distract me!_

"Liara? Why are you sad? Isn't this a good thing?" I ask while sipping one of my cups and passing another to her.

She nods in thanks and smells the perfect aroma before sipping it and smiling at the taste. "Yes, it is what I need to possibly validate my theories and over forty years of work!" Her mood turns sour and she lowers her head, "But... I do not wish to go..." Her eyes look at me, almost as if-

_No, that's not possible._

"Liara-"

She cuts me off, "I want to stay here! I want to stay where I am loved! Where I am safe, but I cannot leave... mostly because I wish to keep our friendship!" Her Azure blue eyes stare at me, pleading for something, anything.

I smile and give it to her, "Liara, we can still be friends if you go."

She shakes her head, "It is not possible! We would be out of communication for YEARS at the very least!"

I reach over the table and place my left hand over her right, "Liara, it'll be the ultimate test, yes, but I'm willing to stay in touch if you are. No matter how long it is between the time you leave, and the time you return, I will always be standing there, on the docking platform, with a huge sign over my head like an idiot, welcoming you back home."

She giggles at the thought and sighs out of what I see as relief, "Thank the Goddess... I wish- no- I hope for it to happen Scorpio. Sooner rather than later would be best."

I pull my hand away and so does she, "So... when are you leaving?" I inquire.

She bites her lip, "Tomorrow." My eyes nearly pop out of my head.

_I already knew she was going to have to leave, but... seriously? Tomorrow? How-_

"How long have you known about this?" I ask curiously. Not at all offended by her choice.

She fidgets and starts wringing her wrists, "I have known about the expedition for over three months now, b-but I only gained the necessary funding a week ago!"

I hold up a hand to calm her, "Liara, it's absolutely fine." I think about what I'm doing for the next few hours and smile as I figure it out. "Liara? Would you mind if you came with me while I ran some errands?"

She tilts her head to the left and raises a tattooed eyebrow, "Errands? What type of errands?"

I stand, quickly tip the waiter, and smile at her while I grab her hand and pull her out of the coffee shop. "You'll see" Is all I say to her as we call a cab and fly off to do... errands...

* * *

A/N I couldn't decide what to cut... it's all just so... awesome! So this chapter is a bit long? You get more for less! :)

Again, sorry for the wait, I'm going to put up another in the next two days to make it up to you!

There WILL be more sexual content in the future of this story. That's why I rated it M for More children are scarred from reading this then you can count. Not G for General Audiences. XD


	13. What's On Your Mind?

A/N Let's just say this is a humor chapter.

Read, Review and Enjoy!

WARNING! EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT AHEAD!

* * *

I keep myself from panicking this time and sigh in absolute relief as our skycar finally lands in front of the Armali Medical Center. "Your errands include a hospital? Whatever for?" Liara asks while we check in at the front desk.

I nod to a nurse I recognize from last time I was here and say, "A few of my friends were in a shoot out a few days back and I owe them some comfort time. After all I DID end up saving most of their asses."

I pause as we enter the elevator and look over to see Liara's reaction. She just stares at me in shock and I have to smile at how ridiculous her expression is. "I... never knew... are they alright? Are they all ok?"

I nod my head to her, "Yeah, two of them had pretty severe head trauma, and I ended up with a bullet in my shoulder, but everyone's on the mend so I'm happy." The elevator stops and we walk out.

"You must have an exciting life, and a dangerous one." Liara comments as I direct us down the hall and up to Rilana's room.

I sigh and look her in the eye, "I wish it wasn't, too much fighting for a lot of us to handle." Pressing my palm against the holo-display, the door spins twice before unsealing and opening. I smile as I see Rila, fidgeting in her regular close, while Jeilus did a few more scans of her spine.

"I already told you, I'm fine! I can feel everything just fine!" Rila complains.

Jeilus scoffs, "And you really want to chance never being able to use our biotics again just because of a simple report?"

Rila glares at her, "Yes."

"Uh... hello?" I say, making myself and Liara known.

Rila looks over and smiles at me, "Hey, I thought you were off chasing down a bed."

I snort a laugh, "Yeah, that turned out to lead to some... pleasant surprises."

_Yeah, a death-realm, finding out a cult that lives there is bent on killing me, waking up with a VERY naked Neril..._

"Um... hello my name is Liara." I look to my left and see Liara walking forward. "I am a friend of Scorpio's, I do hope all is well and you recover from any trauma you have endured."

I blink at how... social Liara is being and smile at her apparent progress. "Yes..." Rila watches her strangely, as if she was about to pull out a gun and shoot her. "I am alright, thanks to Scorpio. We all owe him our lives I'm sure." She searches my face for something.

I smile, "Oh, no your not going to pin it all on me Rila! I only supported Mein and Tel's success. I'm no hero." I look at my feet in contemplation for a moment.

_Wow... I never thought I'd be defending myself from praise._

"Who is Mein and Tel?" Liara asks as I look up to find Jeilus standing in the back, just watching the show.

I look directly at her, then Rila, and back. "Mein and Tel are... two of the three Quarians that were being harassed at the Community Center when Rila and I arrived.

Liara blinks in surprise and looks back to Rila, "Oh, I never expected that."

Rila scoffs tiredly, "Neither was I, until I showed up it seemed like any other domestic situation." Her invisible brow creases, "Wait... Scorpio, Why were you even there? I called for back-up, I never called you."

_Well there we go._

"Seila, the third Quarian, sent me an urgent message saying that she needed my help, so I helped her." I respond easily.

"Well, I've had enough of this stale conversation, I'll meet you in the other room Scorpio." Jeilus declares as she walks out of the room, clearly disappointed Rila and Liara weren't coming to blows no doubt.

_Good, I'd rather not start a fight in a hospital, it's not fun at all._

"So... when are you getting out?" I ask Rila.

She smirks, "If I'm lucky I can sneak out today, but most likely I'll be released tomorrow."

"Good, good. I... was wondering if you could hear me out on a proposal I have." I nervously turn my wrists as Liara backs away from the conversation to watch and Rila sits up out of bed.

She smiles, "I'd be happy to assist in any way Scorpio."

"Well... I have a business plan, that includes the APC and I was wondering if you could bring the proposal to the commissioner." I say as confidently as I can.

Rila frowns at me, "What type of business plan?"

I smile, "Well, I was going to start a company that manufactures weapons and upgrades for combat situations and contract the high-tech equipment through the APC to keep it running."

Rila's eyes widen and she looks at her lap for a moment before smiling, "Well, as long as they aren't too pricey, I'm sure the commissioner will see the need to upgrade our equipment. Especially since I nearly died from outdated weapons and armor just recently."

I nearly jump out of my suit, "Oh thank you! I'm so glad your going to help me. I thought I was stuck in the dark about this whole ordeal until now. When can I start building?"

Rila laughs at my enthusiasm, "Well I still have to acquire the necessary funds and somehow convince the commissioner that this will help the force, but other then that you can start as soon as you can. We'll need some inventory to show off to the mercs as soon as we can."

I dash to her side and kiss her on the cheek, "Thank you so much Rila!"

She blushes in shock and nods as I usher a confused Liara out of the room and shout over my shoulder, "Call me with the details when you can!"

_This is so great! If I can actually get this company off the ground then everything could change for the better! I could prove to the galaxy that Quarians aren't beggars and thieves, I could push the mercs off of Thessia, I could- I mean the possibilities are just wonderful!_

"So you brought me here to meet your friends?" Liara asks next to me.

I look at her and smile, "Well, actually I wanted to get you to talk to some strangers that are my friends as well, so you can practice on your social skills."

She pouts, "You could have just told me that."

I shake my head, "You would have refused to come if I did." The door opens to show Seila pushing Tel off of her as Jeilus injects something directly into her suit. Mein is standing in her corner like usual. I watch her carefully, knowing who she was within the order. Her black mask hides any expression, but I feel the unsettling feeling she's smiling at me.

"Scorpio?" Seila asks in confusion as she sits up and out of bed.

I look at her happily, "Well it's good to see you up and about Seila, how are you doing?"

She dives at me and I have no place to go as she hugs me tightly, "Oh thank you, thank you so much! I thought I was going to die back there! Thank you thank you thank you!"

I pat her back tentatively, "It's alright Seila, I'm glad to help out a friend." I shrug at Tel as he crosses his arms at me.

_I have no clue what to do here._

She keeps hugging me and I look at Mein to see her shaking with laughter. "Uh Seila?"

She looks at me for a moment before realizing how long we were hugging, "OH! I'm so sorry! I'll just, yeah." She backs away slowly and at a look from Liara she hold her hands up in defense.

I look at Liara in confusion and see her glaring, I mean seriously GLARING at Seila. "Uh, is everything alright? Liara?" She looks at me apologetically and shies away from the conversation.

"Well, can we get going already? I hate having to deal with hospitals." I stare at Tel.

_ I never thought his voice was... well... so deep. It's seriously deep!_

"Uh... ok? Sure."

"Whose paying for this?" Mein asks from her corner. Everyone looks at each other in shock.

I slowly raise my hand, "I'm actually paying for this, I feel it's the right thing to do, and I have a proposal for you all."

Tel scoffs, "Here we go, we're in debt to you so you want slaves."

I shake my head angrily, "No, I'm building a company and need working employees that are adept at tech."

Mein looks at me with... interest? "I was wondering what you were doing all this time."

Seila stops Tel from speaking. "Enough! I trust him, he told me about this business venture before the attack. I say it's a great way to make a profit and earn enough credits to buy a great pilgrimage gift. Or even eight of them!" Seila exclaims diplomatically.

Tel looks at her sceptically. "Seila! You actually trust this... Human... with your pilgrimage?"

She glares at him, "He isn't just some Human he saved all our lives AND is helping us when we would have otherwise been screwed! We owe it to him!"

"Exactly! We OWE it to him! He doesn't care about us! We're just a source of cheap labor!" Tel argues adamantly.

Seila stomps her foot, "Damn it Tel! Can't you just shut the Keelah up about your racism already?! He saved our lives! We can't just throw that away!"

"Fine, how much do you want?! Forty? Fifty thousand credits?" Tel asks me with fury.

I hold up my hands in defense, "I don't want your money! I just wanted to give your people a chance for some real employment! I'm willing to pay each of you ten credits an hour!"

Tel balls up his fists and gets in my face, "We want fifteen, and medical insurance!"

I cross my arms, thinking about it for a moment, "How about you get full health insurance and housing, ten credits an hour, and if you contact anyone you know on other worlds and stations that want in, they get free passage courtesy of my pocket as long as they work for me in a two year contract." I respond seriously.

Tel stares at me for a moment, then looks back at Seila and she nods. "Fine." He points a finger in my face, "But if any of our people get ripped off while working for you then I'll personally pull your brain out of your ass and force you to eat it." I brush his hand away and hold my hand out to seal the deal.

He grips it tightly, "You have a deal Tel, on my word, your people will not come to harm while employed with me. Wages are always negotiable depending on what skills each individual has in their field of study."

He nods thankfully, "I'm adept at tech and weapon maintenance. Mein over there is a master inventor." Mein nods at me. "Seila is, as you know, our master programmer." Seila waves at me happily and I smile at her in return. "We have a few more friends we can contact from the Citadel and other homeworlds. overall we have twelve people who know another... fifteen?" He asks Seila, she nods. "Yeah fifteen that can be contacted at any time."

I stare at him in amazement, "I... never knew you were all so... connected. Well, never-the-less, I'll probably need about four to run the fabricators I'm legally able to run, and about six to work the manufacturing department." I turn to Mein, "And how many you need to run research and development."

She rubs her chin in contemplation, "I'll need three assistants adept at experimental technology and two colleagues."

I nod in acceptance, "We can discuss what you need at my apartment later tonight." Turning back to Tel, I place my hand on his shoulder, "You take care Tel, I'll contact you all when the warehouse is set up."

I turn to leave. "Wait!" Tel grabs my arm, "How are you going to pay for all of this?"

I turn back to him and raise an eyebrow, "I have some ideas, but mostly from personal funding."

He shakes his head, "It's at least half a million credits to start up. If your willing to give half of the company profits to the migrant fleet, they can supply the necessary fabricators and a steady supply of materials. Cutting cost down to just the setup, which we can help out with, and the cost for the warehouse."

I cut in, "Which is already paid for the next four months."

Tel smiles from behind his mask, "We can do this, we can actually do this!" He stops, "Wait... how are we going to sell our products?"

I wave my hand aside, "I've got that covered, the APC needs better supplies and armaments to combat the growing merc problems and my friend in the force is in the next room. She has a very good chance at using this incident to approve millions in funding from the Republics." They all look at me in shock, "And since we're going to be building the most advanced products possible for the lowest cost on the market... we can eventually expand to supply other markets, such as the Citadel. We only require time and effort to make it work."

"What about licenses?" Seila asks curiously.

I shake my head, "That's the beauty of it! Since we're manufacturing NEW forms of weapons and technology the free market laws here on Thessia allow us to gain patents on our products! All I need is the blueprints of our products and I can get a patent with ease. Five percent of our earnings go to the Thessian Republics and that's our taxes. No property taxes, no income tax under eight million!" They stare at me like I had gone insane, but I looked it up, and cross-referenced it. The Asari homeworld was the ideal free market for a reason.

"Keelah..." Tel breathes in shock. "We can do this? Can we actually do this?" I nod to him.

"I only invest in sure things." I respond as confidently as I can possibly can. "And this is as close as sure I can get."

"We'll get the preparations started and contact you when we need to." Tel responds happily. They all walk out of the room, Mein watching me as she goes, making me involuntarily shiver.

_She is seriously creepy._

I stay for a second longer, remembering Liara. "Liara?"

She walks out from the shadows with a smile on her lips, "You are amazing Scorpio."

I blush slightly, "Thanks Li."

"I hope you remember to tell them what income taxes are on Thessia." She comments worriedly.

"Yeah, I think they'll figure it out by the end, but I know what you mean." I say quietly.

_I also found out that the entire system was Socialistic. I was... a bit shocked to say the least. Then I started reading the facts. Pretty much 5% of your income goes to providing permanent health-care for everyone if your a citizen, if you are not then you pay your bills. I actually had Neril bring up the citizenship paperwork for Thessia. It took me eight minutes to fill it out. I'm a citizen as of 08:23am this morning. I stared at my omni-tool for at least a good twenty minutes, trying to find loop-holes in the bills signed on the health-care system, I found none. It read simply like this;_

**Any citizen of the Asari Republics of Thessia has the right to be provided any and all medical care required at any time what-so-ever, as determined by the High Priestesses and Matriarchs of the Third Order of Athame on (July 7th 2236BC, I translated it to Earth Years.) Any citizen not of any affiliates or governments under the rule of law of the Asari Republics are required to pay a sum equal to the amount of medical care provided.**

_Income taxes are just about 40%. I am so... glad I'm a citizen now._

I stand at the front desk of the Hospital, waiting in line for about three minutes before getting my turn to provide identification. "Identification please." The surprisingly perky Asari asks politely. I hold up my ID on my omni-tool and she scans it. "Alright what would you like to do today..." She re-reads my name, "Dy-"

I cut her off, "Just call me Scorpio."

_My LEGAL Thessian name is now Dylan David Scorpio, to honor my father, and my past._

"Alright Scorpio, you want to put your friends on your medical plan for their visit is this correct?" I nod and she types up Seila's file. "Ok, it looks like we're going to need a sum of 2300 credits, but other then that you're good to go!"

I smile to her, "Of course." I send over the deductible for non-citizens being put on a citizen's plan. "Oh, and how much would it be if they were going to pay for it themselves?" I ask curiously.

She looks at her terminal again, "Just about 4,000 credits, not including the deductible of 4,000 for non-citizens who are not covered by the Global Health-Care System. So about 8,000 plus 20% tax..."

I do it quickly in my head, "9,600 credits for a concussion and clean room, as well as two day stay." I recite in shock.

She smiles, "Yep. My you have a great mind sir."

"Thank you." I respond dryly.

"Well, I hope to NOT see you soon!" She declares happily as we all leave the hospital.

_Lets see... since the exchange rate between credits and dollars after the First Contact War was $6 per Credit. It means that Seila's hospital bill would have been... Just about $57,600 dollars. And if I reverse the inflation chart I looked up during breakfast this morning... oh what the fuck that stay costs less than $1,200 dollars back in 2013!_

"Scorpio? Your first name is Dylan?" Seila asks with a smile while we get into a cab.

I look at her apologetically, "Yeah, sorry. I didn't really want to give out my real first name since it seemed a bit strange. You can call me Dylan if you want."

Liara giggles from next to me in the back of the skycar, "I never thought it would be so strange! Dylan... it just doesn't suit you!"

I frown at her as Seila joins in with her own laughter. "Hey, my mother thought it would be special!"

"And is it?" Tel asks with his disturbingly deep voice.

I sigh reluctantly, "No, eight people in my graduating class were named the same."

"Dylan... I think I could get used to it." Liara says quietly to my left.

I look at her cautiously, "Right... um... Mein my apartment is-"

"I know where it is, and we're already here." She comments from in the driver seat. I look out the windshield and notice my apartment building WAS right there... staring back at me like a bad omen.

_How does she know-? Whatever I'll ask her tonight._

"Well... thanks." I get out and Liara follows.

We wave at Seila, Tel, and Mein as they depart, "They seem like nice people... Dylan." Liara states as we walk into the lobby.

I smile fondly, "Yeah, they're good people. A bit strange, but we're all a bit... eccentric to some degree." She nods in agreement and looks around, absorbing the new surroundings like a magnet.

"Scorpio." I stop at the front desk, where Neril is sitting, eying Liara suspiciously.

"Neril, we went over this, call me Dylan if you wish." I respond, trying to get her to forget Liara.

She frowns at me and leans over the desk to whisper in my ear, "I don't care if she's the daughter of a well known Matriarch, I am not having a three-some!"

I pull back in shock, "Neril this is my FRIEND Liara T'soni." Liara waves at Neril as she inspects an interesting plant that hangs from the ceiling next to the front desk.

Neril raises a spotted eyebrow, "Alright, Scorpio I'll... just sit here for a bit." She looks at Liara again and I nod appreciatively.

I practically push Liara down the hall and up to my apartment. "*sigh* Home sweet home." I hack through the lock and turn on the lights to show that nothing looks out of the ordinary in my room, even the couch/futon was back to it's normal couch self.

She cleans up well. Huh even the scorch marks from when she taught me how to use the Biotic Inferno are gone.

"Come on in, mon appartement est votre appartement."

"What?" Liara stares at me in confusion.

"Oh, um... sorry that's French for _my apartment is your apartment_, its a way of welcoming you in to stay for a while." I explain apologetically.

She smiles, "Thank you." She looks around at the plain walls, the cramped spaces, the basic colors. "You live here?" She asks in shock.

I frown, "Yes, it's all I can afford right now, but I make it work."

She seems worried for some reason, "It... seems a bit small."

I nod in understanding after seeing her mother's mansion, "Yeah, I guess. I understand your criticism after seeing how big your mother's house is."

Liara blushes, "I- I am sorry if I have offended, it just seems strange to know someone who lives... a normal life." I burst out laughing.

"HAHAHA! You- HAHA! Think I have a NORMAL life? HAHAHA!" She frowns at me as I wipe a tear from my eye. "Oh Liara, I am anything BUT normal, but thanks for the compliment."

"Alright." She blinks at me in surprise at my reaction. "What are you going to do while I am gone?" She watches me with concern.

I smile, "I'm going to run a respectable company, and change how the Galaxy sees the Quarian people."

"I wish you well... Dylan... but I require time to pack." She holds her hand out to shake my own, the first Human gesture she's ever done.

I take it gladly, and shake it. "Lets hope I can piss off the right people by the time I'm done." She giggles, smiling wide at me, she kisses my cheek, and turns to leave... the future Shadow Broker... scared to leave her friend for a few years. The door shuts as she looks back at me with a small smile on her blue lips. I wave back, feeling just a small bit more alone than before.

_Lets hope I don't piss off the wrong people..._

* * *

"Please come in, come in." Three Asari adorned in Commando armor walk into the large office. each painted with red markings to show they're from the southern Republics. "Now where- Ah!" A Massive Krogan enters the room, blood-red eyes holding something akin to experience as they survey the room as he enters. A Salarian, wearing basic clothing taps on his datapad, "Good good, now please, take a seat." He indicated the four standard metallic chairs that sit evenly along one side of a large wooden table. The three Asari sit, already knowing what was required to do business with the client from past dealings. The Krogan claims a corner as his own and leans on it. The Salarian notices and walks over. "Please, take a seat, my employer will be with you shortly." He states calmly. The Krogan glares murderously at him in response.

"I'm not moving a muscle until I see my payment." The Krogan growls out, not even giving the Salarian the courtesy of eye contact as he speaks.

The Salarian taps one on his datapad, "Please, take a seat... Urdnot-"

The Krogan doesn't let him finish as he palms the datapad and crushes it in his massive paw. The Salarian watches without expression as the sharps of metal and glass fall to the tiled floor and form a pile of debris. "No Salarian has the honor of speaking my name."

The Salarian looks back up to watch The Krogan unmoving, then he sighs... and snaps his fingers. Instantly the doors fly open and twelve Eclipse operatives rush in, restraining the confused and frightened Asari within seconds. They haul them away kicking and screaming while regrouping, shotguns and assault rifles drawn on the Krogan as they surround him. The Salarian walks through the group, now in Eclipse engineering armor, holding another datapad. "Now, Urdnot Kantor." Kantor Grips his fists tightly as the Salarian speaks his name. "You have two options..." The Salarian hands the datapad to Kantor. "One, you can accept this contract." Kantor accepts the datapad reluctantly and scans over the contract, he ignores everything except for his payment... one hundred thousand credits. He grins wickedly. "Oh, I see you enjoy credits... well there's more where these come from." The Salarian tosses the payment between his hands. "IF you're willing to cooperate."

Kantor grunts in contemplation, "What's my other option?" He asks out of blind curiosity.

The Salarian grins and every weapon in the room's safeties are all click off simultaneously, forcing Kantor to actually look at the twelve barrels with fear. "Option two..." The Salarian pockets the credits and pulls out a long serrated blade and begins twirling it with his two fingers, "I get to pry off your head-plate." Kantor's hands instantly go to his forehead to protect his plate on impulse.

Urdnot Kantor shivers in fear for the first time since his contract on Noveria expired and left him in the snow during a blizzard for a week without rations. "I choose option one." He says clearly with his gruff voice to avoid any confusion.

The Salarian sheathes his blade in it's housing and tosses the credits at Kantor, "Good, now SIT." Kantor catches the chit and quickly pushes past the crowd and sits down in his chair as the three Asari are escorted back and sat down in their original seats. The Salarian dismisses the crowd and stands off to the side, still in his Eclipse armor. "My employer will be here shortly." He states calmly, bugging the hell out of all four of the Mercenaries as they patiently wait to see who was contracting them.

* * *

Scorpio sits down on his couch to rest after getting the full tour of his new security systems by Neril. Auto turrets in the ceiling, mines in the carpet, emergency grenades in the couch cushions...

I shake my head, "She's prepared I'll give her that." I mutter as I cross my legs to practice my meditation like Aethyta advised me to do three times a day.

_Bond your nervous system to the universe..._

I breath in and feel the currents of dark energy as they flow throughout the apartment- *Knock, knock, knock* My eyes fly open and I look at the front door.

_What the hell?_

*Knock, knock, knock* I stand up and slide my pistol into its magnetic lock just in case as I approach the door. *Knock, knock, knock* I hack into the door and it opens as I discreetly build up a Biotic throw behind my back. "Mein?" I stare at her for a second, expecting her to... well...

"Dylan, may I come in? I wish to discuss some possible research projects." She states while holding a silver box in front of her.

"Uh... ok?" I say as I get out of her way and keep the throw built in my fist. She walks in and sits on the couch as I lock the door.

_I invited her here, calm down already!_

I take a deep breath and let the throw dissipate as I sit down next to her, "What have you got?"

She opens up the box to reveal over a dozen OSD's labeled in Khelish, "A lot of my experimental projects I started back on the Migrant Fleet. Uh... where is your holo-projector?" I point my thumb behind me and she spots it on the wall. "Thanks."

_She seems to know what she's doing._

I look around in the box to find rolls of blueprints, even more OSD's, and even some prototypes.

_Damn, she definitely knows what she's doing._

The holo-projector starts up and she walks around to stand next to it happily, holding a collapsible metal pointer in her hands, "Now, welcome to my demonstration of my genius." She pulls out the pointer to full length and I sit back, completely certain that the research department was at least in competent hands.

* * *

The four Mercenaries look over the contract's details for the seventh time, having a hard time finding any flaws in the plan. "Well?" The four look up at the Asari, Salarian, and Batarian that put the plan together waiting for a response. Kantor looks down at the specs of the ships they were going to be using and grumbles something under his breath.

"Kantor? You have something to add?" The Asari asks politely.

Kantor's head lifts up to look at her in surprise, "This... these models... aren't they decommissioned? What makes you so sure they can run?" He asks curiously.

The Asari and Salarian look at the Batarian for confirmation. He grumbles, "They served the Hegemony for years and never failed. They are simply sitting at dock, waiting to be decommissioned. We still have time." Kantor nods, he knew the model well, but this plan was just insane.

One of the Asari speaks up. "I... still think it's a long shot. Even after getting the necessary man power to run the damn things. I don't think-" Kantor scoffs. The Asari glares at him, "What?"

Kantor looks at her and grins, "What Asari, you can't take something that big entering your port?" The Batarian chuckles under his breath as Kantor shows his teeth.

The Asari sighs, "I just wish the damn things weren't so ugly, and what the hell is up with that engine? It's WAY too massive to get the ship moving to far without having to refuel!"

The Batarian smiles, "We're working on refitting them with newer engines."

"Then why can't we just build a ship around the engines we already have?" The second Asari states in annoyance. She was the engineer of the group, and knew why the plan wasn't going to work.

"We already thought of that and scrapped it due to the cost." The Salarian states plainly.

"I'm out." She tosses the datapad onto the table. "I'm not working under these conditions." She glares at the Batarian angrily before standing and turning to walk away.

*BLAM* Her dead body slams to the floor, a gaping hole in the side of her head. The group looks at the Batarian in shock. He shrugs, "What? She looked at me wrong. Like she KNEW me." He looks at the dead Asari suspiciously, "I don't like people knowing me."

"You too?" Kantor comments while still looking at the dead Asari with hungry eyes. He turns back to the group, "Hey is anyone going to eat that?" he points his massive thumb over his shoulder at the rotting Asari laying on the floor.

The Salarian blinks rapidly before saying, "Just keep the blood stains off the carpets on your way out. Please?"

Kantor grins wide and looks at the Asari sitting next to him, "Your next welp." He whispers as she shifts her chair further away from the rapidly growing pool of blood.

She rolls her eyes at him, "You can go fuck yourself, I'm keeping my body thank you very much."

"Back to business..." The lead Asari states while clapping her hands together. "Who's in..." She looks past the remaining three at the corpse, "and who's out?"

Kantor huffs, "Sure, I can handle it."

The two Asari look at the corpse behind them and then at each other, talking to each other without moving their lips. After a few seconds they turn to the three leaders, "We're in." The three leaders smile at them.

"This is going to be extremely lucrative, I know it." The Salarian states happily. "Report to your ports immediately, time is running out." The two Asari stand and quickly leave while Kantor stays seated and watches the three leaders.

They turn to look at him nervously as he crosses his arms. "Well?" He asks impatiently.

The Salarian blinks twice, "Well... what?"

"Am I going to get a to-go bag or not!"

* * *

*beep* I blink and look down at my omni-tool to find I have a new voice message. "Hold it Mein, I've got to check this." She stops mid-sentence during a quite lively presentation about advancing shield capacitors.

She lowers her arms, "Make it quick! We still have twenty more projects to go over!"

I step outside as I plug the audio into my suit and check the sender.

"D..." I hesitate, but push play anyways.

...

"*static* Scorpio... an odd name for you to choose- *static* -I warned you not to alter the path- *static* -now you will be blamed for the- *static* -and watch as- *static* -burns! *static*"

The message ends.

...

_What... the-_

"Message self deleting..."

_WHAT! NO!_

I try and copy it in time and miss my chance as I watch it self-delete. I close my omni-tool, trying to piece together what I could have altered. I walk back inside and sit down as I replay the message in my head and wonder...

_What will burn?_

* * *

"...so now you have an understanding of my research and any projects I'm going to be working on. What do you think?" Mein asks me at two in the morning. We just finished the last OSD.

I rub my tired eyes, "I... think I need to get some sleep Mein. I'll talk to you about it in the morning. Let me sleep on it." She crosses her arms angrily and stares at me. "*sigh* I'm sorry Mein, but that message I got earlier is seriously bugging me. I'll give you an answer in the morning, I promise." I plead to her to let me just go to sleep.

"Fine, I'll hear from you tomorrow." She says quickly before rushing over to the holo-projector and ripping her OSD out of it before slamming her box shut and leaving. I

What will burn? The Citadel? Earth? My apartment building? WHAT!

I bioticly toss a datapad at the wall in frustration and watch as it shatters on impact.

_Whoa..._

I groan as I realize I have to clean it up. As I'm walking over to the closet I keep the cleaning supplies in I remember I have biotics and just lift the pile of shards over before dropping them into the trash can.

_I have got to watch my biotics, no need to chuck chairs at people because I'm upset about something._

The door opens and I look up to find Neril standing there. "Oh, hey Neril." I turn to grab a glass from the cupboard and gasp as it's ripped from my hand bioticly. I whip around to see Neril setting it down on the counter with a wild expression on her face. I open my mouth to complain and am tackled by Neril, her lips slamming into mine feverishly. I blink in shock at the random affection as our lips part. "What was that?"

I swallow nervously as I see the hungry look in her eyes, "Lets... take a shower..." She lays a hand on my armored chest, "...together..." She whispers seductively while taking my gloved hand and pulling me into the already cramped bathroom. She closes the door behind her. "Take your armor off." I open my mouth to protest but she places a finger to my lips, "I'm horny, your stressed, lets make love." I stare at her, not knowing what the hell to say. She smiles that lustful smile of hers and moves closer, "Don't you want me?" She asks innocently. I stutter out a quiet "Yes" as I realize how close she is. She licks her lips, "Then. take. off. your. armor." Her fingers snake their way through the duel belts that hold my armor in place, "Now." She turns away to tinker with the settings for the shower and for some strange reason, I start taking off my armor. I get the duel belts off just as she pulls down her pants and bumps her firm, petite, backside into my groin. She giggles as I start to groan in anticipation.

_I really shouldn't do this..._

She tosses her shirt onto my head and I pull it off to stare at her beautiful, sexy body and something primitive stirs inside of me. Her Violet eyes look over her shoulder at me and I shiver with desire.

_I'm a goner._

She frowns, "What?" I stare at her, my mind blank. She smiles and saunters two steps forward to lift my right arm and undo the magnetic clamps holding it to the rest of the suit. It drops to the floor and she inspects my palm, tracing the lines with her thin finger tips. "You are fascinating..." She mutters unintelligibly. I pull my hand out of her grasp and cup her cheek, causing her to place her hand over it and smile at me warmly, "I was waiting for her to leave for so long that I... started looking up some things about the human body." She wraps her free arm around me and pulls the zipper holding the torso together. It falls as I undo the other glove.

_She is... beautiful._

"You are-" She cuts me off with a kiss, but this time, she pushes me into the shower door with her tongue. I hum in approval at the strangely alien texture in my mouth.

She pulls away and turns. I watch her as she strikes a sexy pose, "I looked up some things about male anatomy as well." She breaths as she rubs her hands across her exposed body. I can't breath, the tension is almost too much to bare.

"Neril." I choke out. She stops and looks me directly in the eye as I silently plead for her to just get in the shower already.

She laughs quietly and steps closer, snaking her dexterous little fingers down my leggings, breaking every seal she can find before stopping to look up and stare at my bulge.

_For the love of god I'm not even out of my under-suit yet!_

She meets my eyes from her kneeling position and purses her lips, "Not today Melethril." I blink down at her in embarrassment and she chuckles as she undoes my boots and I step out of them.

"What does Melethril mean?" I ask desperately, trying to grasp at anything to distract me.

She stands to her full height and I realize she's about an inch shorter than me. "It means..." Her hands spread across my back, looking for the release. She frowns as she seems to miss it and I grab her wrists, internally laughing at her inability to find it. Reaching behind my neck I pinch a circular disk woven into the suit and the entire back splits in two. She peels it off of my already sweaty body and I'm thankful for the lack of constriction. "It means..." She kneels down to pull off the rest of the suit and looks up to come face-to-face with my man-hood. I involuntarily blush and look away as she stares at it.

_This is seriously embarrassing._

I feel... something and look down in shock as she wraps her hand around the base of the shaft. "I... never thought it would look so..." I grind my teeth and block out how amazingly sexy she looks in that position.

After a few seconds I take a deep breath and ask, "It looks...?"

She smiles up at me with blackening eyes and finally lets go of her... tight grip. She moves closer and reaches past me as her breasts press against my exposed chest to activate the shower head. The door opens and I back up into the shower wall, still at a loss of what to do, or really how to even do it. She grabs the bottle of body wash I purchased and squeezes a large amount into my left hand. "Lather me up."

_Uh... ok._

Pressing my hands together, I remind myself why I'm actually doing this and take a breath before placing them on Neril's waiting back as she stands under the water. I search my thoughts for massage tricks and find a few, so I add them to my rhythms and she rolls her head back in enjoyment.

_So... that works._

Pressing my fingers into her tight muscles I focus on getting knots out and it works to distract me... "Oh!" ...until she moans. I stop, and she turns to me, her eyes completely black already. "My turn." She breaths as she picks up the bottle again and I stand under the water, wondering what it'll feel like.

_I am a bit tense today, a good message will do me wonders._

I wait, and wait, and wait.

_What's going on?_

"Mmmm..." I turn, and my jaw drops. Neril's hand... was... well... she's masturbating. A low growl escapes my throat, for some reason it angers me to watch her pleasure herself. I step forward and wrap my arms around her, pressing my lips and body to her own. She gasps in shock and opens her black eyes to- "Embrace Eternity!"

Everything blurs and I open my eyes to find myself back in the library that was Neril's memories.

_Oh come on, seriously? Is this going to happen EVERY time I decide, well Neril decides we need to have sex?_

My internal consciousness sighs in aggravation and starts jogging towards its intended destination. I stop as I feel something outside and cautiously look to find-

_Oh... well... damn. I didn't think I could do that._

I'm holding Neril up, her back against the wall of the small shower, her arms around my torso while I thrust in and out of her with rapid repetition. I stare for another second in shock before turning back to her inner thoughts and sprinting down the hall of memories.

_A few more meters... there!_

Skidding to a stop just before the podium where the book on Eternity sits, I take a deep breath and check that I'm still occupying her on the outside.

"Oh goddess!"

_Yep. Man I feel terrible using her like this, well she's using me as a sex toy so she brought it on herself._

I take hold of the cover and swear internally-

_Heh, my internal self is swearing internally._

-and realizing the book is locked shut.

_Son of a bitch!_

Looking around, I sigh as I realize I'm out of time.

_Next time, I'm looking for that damn key!_

Panting at the intense exertion, I set Neril onto her own two feet and catch her as she fails to keep her balance. "Oh my Goddess... how did you...?" She breathes incredulously while panting on my shoulder.

_Don't ask, I don't even know._

I try and slowly pull out of her and she wraps her legs around mine, nearly forcing us to fall. "P-Please stay, I-I'm too sensitive r-right now." She pants into my ear.

_Well... alright._

"Well, we definitely need that shower now." I comment. She laughs on my shoulder, still swimming in the strange ecstasy organics feel right after coitus.

She snuggles into my neck and kisses it, _I love you Melethril_. I freeze as I catch that thought.

_What?_

"What?" I pull her away enough for her to look me in the eye, even though her eyes are completely black. Her invisible eyebrows crease with worry and she's about to apologize... but I cut her off. "I mean, it's sudden. I'm probably not THAT good." She smiles and her eyes blend back to normal, showing that she left my mind.

_Phew... I hope I don't blow it. I seriously need that information on Eternity, and I don't feel like asking Benesia or High Priestess Ardania for it for that matter._

"I love how caring you are." Neril whispers as she rests her head on my shoulder.

"Uh... Neril?"

"Hmm?"

I grind my teeth uncomfortably, "Can I... pull out now?"

She pulls back to look at me weirdly before looking down and blushing, "Oh, right, sure." I do and she shivers from the strange emptiness she feels as a result.

_Wait... how did I?_

I close my eyes and feel... well... something familiar nearby. Not just physically, but mentally. I focus on it- "*gasp* Scorpio." Opening my eyes I find Neril staring at me in shock.

_Uh... what?_

"What... was that?" She asks curiously.

I frown and close my eyes, "I don't-" Focusing closely on the strange presence I feel my spine start to heat up at the exertion.

"Oh goddess... is that- is that you?" I open my eyes to see Neril staring in shock, her eyes on the verge of becoming black.

"I..." Frowning in concentration, I place a hand on her shoulder and gasp as the presence intensifies three-fold. I pant as my spine heats up to the point of burning and mentally push the feeling away. Surprisingly my spine starts to cool down as the presence drifts away. I drop my hand and it's gone.

Neril places her hands on my bare chest, watching me with an extremely serious expression. "We have a problem." I blink at her worriedly and she reaches over me to turn off the water. "What do you feel?" She asks while grabbing two towels and handing me one.

I start drying myself and look over my internal diagnosis for a moment before responding with, "I have no idea." She frowns as she gets in between her crests and watches me worriedly.

_This is going to be bad isn't it._

"Throw on your armor, we need to go talk to Dr. Jeilus right now." Neril states as she grabs my towel as I finish and starts tossing me pieces of my armor.

"What's going on?" She ignores me and gets dressed as quickly as possible.

"Just trust me and get dressed... soon." Her tone is strictly professional again, like before in Acerbus Inifinium

Ten minutes later I'm fully dressed in my armor and walking into the nearby Hospital with an extremely upset Neril.

_I still don't get what's going on!_

"Dr. Jeilus please." Neril says to the clerk at the front desk. The clerk gives her a card and I have to jog to catch up with how frantic Neril's walking down the hall.

We get into the elevator and I look over at her, "Neril what is goin-"

"Shh."

...

_Did she just shush me?_

I lock my jaw uncomfortably and look over my schedule for... today...

_Wow... it took an hour for us to have sex in the shower. It felt like minutes!_

*Ding* We walk out and I follow Neril as she passes Rila's room, the door opens. I wave to Rila as I pass and she waves back, confused.

_Oh man if I have to explain what I'm doing with Neril to her... I might die of embarrassment._

"Jeilus!" Neril shouts down the hall.

"What!" We turn around and find Jeilus walking down the hall towards us. Neril passes me quickly and stops to whisper something to Jeilus. Jeilus' eyes widen and she looks at me with a surprised expression. "Are you sure?" Jeilus asks her. Neril nods. "Scorpio come with me, we need to do a scan of your brain."

I gulp as my throat goes dry, but I follow her as Neril stays behind. I look behind me as Jeilus enters the elevator and Neril is looking at me apologetically for some reason.

_Oh shit this is bad._

"Get in." Jeilus pulls me inside and I stagger against the back wall as she stops the elevator mid-floor and gets in my face to shine a light in my eyes. I cringe as she does and shake my head as she lets go, "Yep, you are definitely fucking screwed." I stare at her, still completely lost as to what she's talking about. She sees my confusion and sighs as she leans against the shut elevator doors. "You aren't who you say you are." I go to protest and she hold up a gloved hand, "No I don't mean WHO you are I mean WHAT you are." I stare at her, confused and she sighs again. "You aren't Human, there I said it." I tilt my head to the side.

What does she mean by, 'not Human'?

"I mean that there's something seriously different between you and your entire species." Jeilus states. I open my mouth to ask how she- "I knew that was your question because your mind is throwing your thoughts out at light speed." I blink. "Yes I know, it seems a bit weird doesn't it? Not having any way to filter what others hear?" I nod reluctantly. "Yeah, well that's why your here, in this metal box, with me. And no I'm not going to rape you, seriously who thinks that?" I blush. "Oh, just a bit paranoid then? Got it." She sighs again and silently invites me to sit down. "Bioticly meditate with me, I need to show you something." I watch her carefully. "Just fucking do it already!" I wince and cross my legs before closing my eyes and- "Yeah, it looks strange doesn't it?" Jeilus declares as I real back at the weirdly clear vision of her I can see with my eyes closed.

_What in the shit?_

_Can you PLEASE avoid talking to yourself while I'm sifting around in your head?_

I internally gasp at the feeling of her mind poking around inside my own.

_Please don't dig too deep._ I plead.

She scoffs, _Like I actually- Ho ho ho... getting a bit feisty with Neril now are we?_

I blush and shrink back into my little internal corner while she roams around in my head.

_I thought this was supposed to be taxing?_ I ask.

_It is, you my strange little bird, have an adaptable mind so it's a lot LESS taxing then normal. _She responds instantly.

_A what? _

_Essentially your mind is special, and extremely rare. You can't forget anything right?_

I internally nod.

_That's one of the signs._

I cringe as she plucks a sensitive spot.

_Oh... well... I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't think you'd file your grandfather's death away under 'miscellaneous lessons'._

_Please fucking stop, just stop! _I internally shout.

She stops.

_Tell me what your looking for and I'll get it for you._ I think while the space inside my own mind starts to solidify into a warehouse of sorts.

Jeilus' figure forms in front of my own, _I'm looking for the reason your memory is so perfect._

I internally swallow and look to my left, _This way._ I bring her to the 'black book' section and slip on some proverbial mental gloves to handle the dangerous material properly. _You might want a pair of these._ She just nods and slips on a pair as I take the specific book from the shelf at the end of the row... and unlock it for her.

_Thank you._ She opens the book and I look away from it, knowing how much it scarred who I am. After a few minutes she slams the book shut and I watch her expression turn from sadness, to rage, to confusion. _Why?_ She asks.

I shake my head, _I've been asking myself that very same question for four years._

She nods and shakes her head clear, _That didn't have what I need unfortunately. Is there anything else that's really recent?_

I bite my internal lip, _Yeah, but you can't see it._ I comment while locking up _The Reason My Nickname Is Scorpio_ and placing it back on it's shelf.

_Why?_ Jeilus asks.

I shrug, _Because I can tell you it doesn't matter. Now can we get out of my head already?_

_Sure._

Everything blurs and I blink my physical eyes from some sort of flash that blinded me. I shake my head as my vision clears up to see Jeilus showing me a picture she took. I gasp as I see it's... me, but my eyes... their black. Totally black.

_Like Neril's..._

Jeilus closes the photo and helps me stand, "Yes, like Neril's. Your mind adapts to new things quickly. Almost too quickly for you to realize that they even happened."

"So... what does-?"

"It means that you are mentally evolving around something you never thought about until right... now." My eyes widen as the connection hits me.

_Oh my god my brain is re-training itself to match an Asari's._

...

_How can I stop my thoughts from bouncing out of my own head?_

"That's easy, what you have to do is start working on mental conditioning so you can hold your thoughts inside your own head and not project them to anyone who can read them." Jeilus declares as she re-activates the elevator and brings it up to Neril's floor. "I'll send some brochures and manuals with you when you go." I gulp as I stare at her incredulously, "Congratulations, you are now even more fucked up mentally then you thought previously imaginable." The door opens and Neril's standing there, with Rila, talking to each other.

"Uh... hey?" I say to them.

Neril looks at me and blinks before smiling at me for some reason, "Thanks but I think we can wait until we get home." My eyes widen and Rila looks at her like she was insane.

_I REALLY need to just go home... and get some rest._

Rila looks directly at me and stares.

_Yeah, rest._

"Rila, you aren't cleared to leave for another eight hours! Go back to your room and rest!" Jeilus orders, Rila looks at her and cringes before quickly rushing back to her own room.

_Thank you._

Jeilus looks at me as she picks up my thought, "No problem, just PLEASE stop thinking about Neril's breasts until you vacate the building?" I blush and throw the thought from my mind. "Thank you."

Jeilus quickly tells Neril what's happening and dumps forty Gigabytes worth of manuals into my omni-tools before practically throwing us out of the Hospital. I keep my mind as blank as I can as Neril drives me home.

"You know I can still hear you when you talk regularly right?" I look at her with bone-crushing humility as I unlock my apartment door and guide her inside. "Oh, thank you, I do have a beautiful ass." She giggles after reading my thought and I lower my head in exhausted defeat.

_Please just kill me now..._

* * *

A/N OK I DID NOT THINK THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. I know, I know, but hey, at least it's funny as hell. YEP.

Sorry, just had to get this part done with. It's... something extremely strange I thought up two months ago. I mean, he already has the biotics, why not the mental abilities as well? Whoever brought him to the Mass Effect Universe either gave him a tremendous gift... or is just trying to screw with him. :)

One more chapter before the first time elapse! I can't wait.


	14. Broken With Fire

A/N This is my response to the question: _Is there still going to be a scorpio/liara pairing? :/_

Yeah, there will be. But think about it like this, Scorpio and Liara are just getting to be friends and she's leaving Thessia for the foreseeable future so Scorpio isn't keen on making a romantic advance only to lose it to Liara's work. (Which is cannon to the Mass Effect Universe she does go to Detriop for an Excavation and she does return after a few years, you can look it up.) At least yet. Scorpio is still trying to make sure that he's even able to stay ALIVE during his time on Thessia. His relationship with Neril is simply convenient for the moment, he needs info on Eternity, she needs to keep within a two yard radius to keep 'Kerik' alive for her people. Neril may be falling in love with him because... well... he IS pretty awesome, but that might change if she finds out his true intentions. It all boils down to WHEN he feels capable of a purely romantic relationship without limited strings attached. That's why I changed it to (Scorpio/?) we- well... All of you don't know how or when he'll finally feel it time to make something of his time with Liara. (He still has all 12 of those years before ME1 to get to it in this first 'book') So until then he's probably going to be testing a lot of different waters to just get some experiences under his belt before everything goes to- oh I almost ruined the next part of the story! Silly me... ;)  
Just be patient, it'll happen, but I don't want a 'gushy romance story that's absolutely impossible in real life' I want something that relates to the real world and can make all of us that's been in love relate affectionately to how difficult telling someone how they really feel really is. Or at least is awkward enough to make us all laugh really really hard. ;)  
Thanks for the concern but I got it under control, patience is the key. Have a great time reading the next part in Scorpio's Legacy.

And as always... Read, Review, and Enjoy!

* * *

_Wow... I never thought Asari had to do this._ I let the thought run through my head as I concentrate on NOT thinking. Which turns out to be harder then it sounds.

"Scorpio you aren't doing it right." I crack a tired eyelid open to find Neril watching me meditate on the floor from her position on the couch. "You need to CLEAR your mind, not flood it with calming thoughts."

I groan, "I get why I have to do this but why do I have to do it at four in the morning?."

She smirks, "If you'd rather walk around an Asari dock broadcasting your thoughts to EVERYONE around you, no matter how small..."

I growl dangerously at her, "Fine. I'll keep practicing." I let a deep breath out and slowly let the darkness settle in my mind...

"There you go, there you go..." Her voice drifts away as I lose all physical feeling in my body...

I feel myself falling for a second before I open whatever eyes I control and see the warehouse from before, only it's dark, not a light on in the entire place.

_Huh... strange. I guess I... what? Stay here for a while?_ I shrug, somehow, and start moving around, listening to my footsteps as they sound against the concrete floor. I brush my hand across the plastic that covers all the book cases and notice something underneath it around the corner.

_What?_

Walking into the small room it's housed in, I reach out to grab at the plastic. I hear it crinkle at my touch, but I don't see my hand touching it. I look down and I don't see myself at all.

_How am I...?_ I shake my head and just accept it for whatever it is. Ripping the plastic off the podium, I find a huge book, one so large in fact that the spine alone is ten inches thick. I check the bookmark and see it about a third of the way in. Not wanting to lose someone else's bookmark, or start the story a third way into it, I open up the twenty pound cover to find the title's in a different language.

_What?_

I trace the first symbol and swear as I hear myself recite,_ Et_. I trace the symbol with my eyes and find... I recognize the form, the curving swirl, the sharp change in direction that stood out from the others on the page. _Holy shit, this is Prothean!_ I trace the rest of the sentence with my eyes and blink as it starts to blend into another, then another, and before I know it the entire page is completely filled with text, a small numerical '1' sitting in the top right to show it was the first page. I jump in shock as the book slams shut.

_What the hell?_ I try and open it again unsuccessfully and inspect it to find it sealed shut with a binding lock. I sigh in annoyance before realizing the cover, which was blank before, now had symbols etched into the thick black leather. I curiously trace the five symbols one by one and hear my own voice say, _Foriss Cort Vera Walun Xeke_. I swallow nervously as the words pierce the thin air surrounding me with ease. _What does it mean?_ I get a chill and turn as I hear a door slam shut to see a massive steel door locked in my face. I pound my fist against it, trying to get out desperately, but it doesn't budge. Slumping my shoulders in defeat, I turn back to check on the book and gasp as I find the podium empty and footsteps dashing down a hall I never noticed before on my left. _Hey!_ I shout after whoever stole the book. They look back for a moment and I see their emerald green eyes shine through the darkness at me as the person blinks in surprise that I was there. I bolt after them, running and running down hall after hall. The person turns left, I go left. They go right, and I turn right to freeze in surprise as I barely stop myself from dashing into a pit._ Shit!_ I slip off the edge and barely catch myself on the ledge. I dangle there for a moment, just focusing on the person as they stop on the other side of the gap and laugh at me before turning and continuing on. _Fuck_. I strain my arms around and lift myself up to sit, and pant on the edge. I look across the five meter gap in shock and wonder how the hell they jumped it just before a dot on the wall catches my eye. _What's that?_ Standing, I move closer to it and touch it. Instantly the wall shifts to become the floor and I yelp in pain as I land on my side, confused, but understanding. I stand back up and look to my left and right to see the empty black gap stare back at me almost menacing. _I need to be more careful._ I take a deep breath and run across the... wall... just as the gravity changes again and I slip and just barely land on the other side safely.

_*cough* Oh... Why can't my mind be as simple as say... a riddle. I can do riddles all day, but shifting gravity puzzles?! *cough* Fuck that!_

Shaking my daze away I open my eyes and freeze as I find the person I was chasing standing not three inches from my face. _You are welcome._ She... says to me while standing there... the only discernible feature through darkness are her bright, emerald green eyes.

_Uh... thanks?_ Her eyes smile at me as she hands me something, a paper note. _What's this?_ I open it up and I see a symbol, a Prothean symbol.

_Your first step._ She states smugly. I look up to ask her what she meant to see she's disappeared. I look around in the dark hallway and find... nothing. _*sigh* Great._ I open the note to look at the symbol again and shake my head, _I don't know what this means._ The walls and floor rumble suddenly, putting me off balance for a moment and I stare in shock as the wall opens up to my right to show... the same small room from before with the massive book sitting right where it needs to be. I walk up to it and see the first symbol on its sealed cover glowing with an ancient and powerful energy. I frown at it and open up the piece of paper to see the same exact symbol just before the note bursts into emerald fire and disintegrates. _What did that do?_ I ask no-one in particular. I check and the lock on the binding is still sealed, the book- _Wait a minute._ I trace the glowing symbol and feel something touch my mind, I read it and translate its meaning. It means fire... _Why? Do I need to know it? If I do, then what-_ I remember the latest message I got from whoever 'D' is and swallow nervously. _What will burn?_ I ask myself worriedly. _What will fire burn?_ I feel time slow down as I blink my eyes and when I open them again I'm staring at Neril while she's sitting comfortably on my couch reading something on her omni-tool.

"Uhh... Neril?" I ask nervously.

"Hmm?" She looks down at me and smiles as she sees I'm awake. "It seems you have successfully passed your first trial, congratulations." I stare at her, still a bit confused.

"Why did I...?" She stops me.

"If your mind is truly like an Asari's then you will have trials that you either pass, or you don't. If you DO manage to pass them you get nothing. Same if you don't pass them, nothing bad, nothing good. It's all the same. But it helps with keeping your thoughts focused and inside your own head."

I rub my forehead as it pounds with a slight headache, "Then why do I have to even do them?"

Neril shrugs, "We aren't sure, it's just something we Asari accept as normal."

I frown at her in confusion, "Did your trials have a big black leather book?"

She smiles, "Yeah, and it sealed as soon as you touched it right?"

I shake my head, "No, I read the first page and it shut instantly."

She stares at me in shock, "Wait... you actually opened the book?!" I nod, confused by her reaction.

"Is that a big deal?" I ask curiously.

She scoffs, "Is it a big deal?! YOU OPENED THE BOOK! No Asari EVER recorded in the HISTORY of our culture has managed to open the book! We have prophecies written by the Goddess Athame herself outlining the coming of one who _'Finishes the Trials, and reads from the Book of Knowledge to enlighten all of the universe!'_" She jumps off the couch and bombards me with questions, "What was it like? What happens when we die? Is the Goddess real? How does Eternity and Acerbus Infinium fit into the basic outline of the universe?"

I physically hold her back, "Calm down, calm down! I never read anything! It slammed shut as soon as I noticed I was on page one!"

She gasps, "You touched the first page?! OH BY THE GODDESS ATHAME HERSELF I NEED TO TELL THE HIGH PRIESTESS!"

I grab onto her and tackle her to the carpet, "NO!" I shout in her face. She stares at me with wide eyes and I blink, trying to find an excuse for the outburst, "Uh... I only went through the first trial. It would be pre-mature if I just failed during the second trial right off the bat." I jump off of her and help her up as I do so.

She watches me with... awe? "You are special Dylan David Scorpio, you passed a trial AND read from the Book of Knowledge!" I shake my head in exasperation. "You gained one of the symbols correct? One of the five thousand?" I gawk at her.

"What?! I only saw five!" I shout incredulously. Her eyes roll around and she acts like she's about to faint.

I hold her up and set her down on the couch to belay it, "Y-You... oh by the Goddess..." She balances herself and shakes her arms around animatedly "You could actually open the book! I know the one person in the universe who can open the book!" I cover her mouth with my right hand to quiet her down.

"Don't shout it!" I tell her adamantly.

_I don't care if it's true or not! I'm not letting Ardania know about me before I finish my biotic training! I DON'T want to get assassinated!_

She frowns at me and crosses her arms. I watch her for a moment before finally removing my hand to find her lips curled into a devious smirk. She leans forward and locks lips with me for a moment before pulling back to say, "I think I'm going to like living in this realm."

"Wha-?"

*beep*

"Scorpio, Liara's departure is within the hour, would you like for me to call the ARTS?" LIA asks from my left omni-tool.

_Oh frick I forgot about that._

I jump up and check that my armor is sealed properly before giving an apologetic look to Neril and rushing out the door, "Yes! Bring a skycar to the front now!" I dash out of the lobby and hop in just as it lands.

"Wait!" I look behind me and barely catch my pistol before nodding back to Neril in thanks and locking it to my side.

_Can't be too careful._

I plug LIA into the systems and she quickly takes off towards the Armali Spaceport.

_How could I fo-_

I duck as LIA nearly hits a passing skycar.

_Fuck! Forget about Liara's departure! I mean I have-_

A transport carrier blows a stop light and I grip the seat as LIA veers under it before speeding up again.

_Damn it! I have a lot on my mind lately, but why-?_

"Holy mother of god!" I shout as LIA does a cork screw through cross traffic and lands us at the Spaceport surprisingly undamaged.

*DING* "Scorpio, you have arrived." I swallow down my breakfast from yesterday and pry my fingers from my seat before jumping the hell out of the skycar as quickly as I can without looking like a tourist from Earth to the surprisingly large crowd that's gathered around the boarding platform. I take a calming breath to slow my rapidly pounding heart and walk over to a nearby window to lean on the railing and catch my breath.

_I need to get my skycar back, soon._

I just take a moment to watch the transport shuttles and cargo ships as they depart and arrive at seemingly random intervals that allow the extremely complex global economy to keep running at a wonderfully basic pace. I perk up as a cramped personal shuttle zips through the port and lands outside my window. By the lettering on it's hull, it's Turian in nature. I notice it's armaments and grin at the heavily armed duel mass accelerator cannons on either wing of the small ship. The entire cock pit cracks open and folds back to reveal three Turians, all in heavy combat armor and carrying their weapons at their sides in cases for screening purposes. I look back to the ship and smile fondly at the beautifully sleek design.

_Man... I need to get me one of those._

I internally chuckle at the thought of owning something capable of FTL when I haven't technically even been in outer space yet.

_I'll put it on my to-do list for the end of the year._

"Scorpio?" I pry my eyes off the Turian ship and look to my left to find Matriarch Benesia standing there, surrounded by her entire security force.

I turn to her and bow to her in respect, "Matriarch Benesia, it's good to see you came-" I quickly scan the entire force, "-with a contingency of eight highly trained Commandos and four Huntresses as a back up." I look at the four out of place Asari citizens I notice sifting through the crowds like predators on the hunt.

_Well that's why they call them Huntresses._

She keeps her expression cool, but I see humor in her eyes, "It always pays to expect the unexpected." She replies almost sagely.

I nod and tap a finger on my pistol, "Yep, that's why I brought my pistol-" I tense up the same hand to form a small black-blue biotic throw inside my palm, "-and my biotics, but as you know... being prepared is only half the battle. You need to be wise with your decisions and know that even if it does come to battle, you must not forget the war."

She smiles at me fully, "You are wise Scorpio, and quite true. Many stray from the path of wisdom-" I catch her eye as she looks at the three Turians from before being checked for explosive devices by the port security and one of them being harassed for his synthetic arm.

_Wait... no, no that's a complete long shot._

She looks back at me, "-and lose themselves to the journey, not seeing the end to their horizon." I smile and nod in understanding. "We are nearly late, come. Liara's expedition is about to leave." She comments plainly.

I look to where she's moving towards and spot Liara fussing about how the security handled her bags.

_Oh, Liara..._

I quickly walk over as the Asari mis-handling a small stone attached to a necklace is about to be tackled by a furious Liara, "Hey Liara." I say quickly.

She freezes and turns to look at me in surprise, "You, you came!" She jumps forward and hugs me before pulling back and snatching the stone necklace from the security officer. "Here I want you to have this." She holds the necklace out to me and I take it at the behest of the security officer.

I roll the strangely smooth rectangular stone in my palm and find the Prothean symbol for Guardian carved into one side of it with a jagged edge on its bottom along with the markings of another symbol, like someone broke the original piece in half. "What is it?" I ask curiously.

Liara smiles, "It is half of an artifact that I... procured on a dig back when I started my Master's Degree. The other half is here." She reaches into her dress and pulls out the second half of the stone, only her half has the Prothean symbol for Angel carved into one side of it.

I smile at the sentiment and put it on under my hood. Its strange weight balancing perfectly around my neck, "It's perfect." I comment while lifting it up to see the carving shine in the morning sun.

"I... found out one of it's properties just recently." She states while coming close and lifting her piece up to mine. I watch them snap together magnetically and the carvings start to glow an ethereal green before subtly dimming into a calming blue and disconnecting from each other. "Wow." I exclaim in amazement.

"These stones detect the life signs of the wearer and transmit their status to its pair instantaneously through quantum pairing. As long as we wear them we know whether the other is alright through the glowing of the carvings. Kind of like how your dagger glows whenever you touch it, these also match to our genetic codes so only either of us can actually wear them at any given time." She explains enthusiastically. "This is how we can stay in touch! Every time we look at them and see them glow we know the other is still alive and well!"

I grin like an idiot and hug Liara tightly. "This is the best gift ever Li."

She tentatively hugs me back and I look over her shoulder to meet eyes with Benesia and I see her internally smiling. We pull apart as I notice the expedition leaving, "I will see you in a few years then?" She asks me in one last bout of hesitation.

I smile at her, "Of course Liara. See you when you get back." She smiles, the worry gone from her eyes. I step back as she enters the cargo carrier the University approved for the expedition and wave to her as I spot her half of the artifact resting gently around her neck while she and her colleagues climb aboard.

"You are very important to her Scorpio." I hear Benesia tell me from my right. "Do not make me regret allowing you into her life." I stop and turn to look her in the eye for a moment to see her seriousness before nodding resolutely and looking back towards Liara's departing ship to sigh in a strange mix of anxiety and isolation at the wonders of modern technology.

_I hope she has a safe trip..._

I let my hand rest on my half of the necklace.

_I won't be seeing her for the next five years. For some reason that's comforting._

Someone shoves me aside, "Out of my way Human." I shake my daze and go to reply only to stare directly into the eyes of the devil himself.

_Saren... I barely recognize him._

His normal blue eyes glare at me, I look back resolutely and see his face was missing a lot of the features he's known for in ME1.

_No glowing parts, his mandibles are regular-looking, compared to other Turians his fringe isn't cut off to be replaced by a cloth and wires. Really the only thing I have to recognize him by is his glare and that missing left arm._

"What are you waiting for Human?" He asks me with... less malice then I expect, more like annoyance.

I realize I'm staring him down while building my biotics around my fists as he does the same. I involuntarily swallow at how tall he is compared to me.

I blink and look to the side without moving my head, knowing my face was hidden behind the hood and mask, to find Nihlus standing there, shifting uncomfortable with another equally heavily armed Turian wearing the Spectre seal on his breastplate proudly.

_Huh, looks like Nihlus found that carrier after all._

Looking back to Saren I drop my biotics and fold my hands behind my back to nod respectfully, "My apologies Spectre, I was not watching where I was standing."

He huffs at me, nearly throwing back my hood with his breath. "Respect from a Human... it seems this Planet can never hold it's wonders back from me." He states with... quite a bit of charm. I involuntarily smile at him as he walks away, Nihlus and the other Spectre hot on his heels.

_Well... that was interesting. I could almost forget that he gets indoctrinated by the Reapers in just about twelve years._

I spin around immediately and start walking back to my awaiting cab, ready to get the hell out of here while I have the chance. I bow a respectful goodbye to Benesia as I pass by and she nods to me in return.

_I seriously need some sleep, especially after pulling that all-nighter with Neril._

Stepping into the skycar, I sit back and close my eyes, just trying to get a small nap in...

…

"Scorpio I would like to advise you that napping is not permitted inside a parked skycar according to the Thessian Transit Authority subsection eight on public loitering." I open my eyes as I hear LIA's voice and look around to see we're back at the apartment.

"Thanks for telling me LIA." I say tiredly as I step out.

I pull her from the dashboard via omni-tool and she responds in my ear with, "No problem Scorpio. Also, Neril seems to require your assistance in something. She would like you to meet her at your apartment." LIA finishes her sentence just as my front door opens to Neril lighting candles and setting them on plates in a circle in the middle of the room. All the furniture stacked up to the side.

"Thank you... LIA." I respond slowly. Neril notices me and looks up from under her dark cloak to smile at me. "Uh... what the hell is going on?" I ask, hoping I'm not about to witness a sacrifice or something.

_It's the 'or something' that's worrying me more._

"Oh good, you got my message." She replies while lowering her hood to show her face was painted with an upside down triangle inside a circle, the symbol of her cult.

_Oh... shit._

I quickly seal the door behind me and bioticly push the candles aside so I can grab onto Neril's shoulders, "Please tell me you're not sacrificing someone?" I plead to her.

She frowns, "No! I was about to show you a type of meditation that my cult have found to channel negative dark energy before you messed up my perfect circle." She flicks her wrist and places the candles back to their original positions bioticly. "Then I want to teach you how to enter the Acerbus Infinium using this meditation." I let out a breath of relief and let go of her. She turns around, "Take my robes brother Dylan." I blink at her for a moment before taking her robes reluctantly, revealing intricate glowing purple markings pulsing across her entire right side. "The longer you wait the easier it is to use the markings in the ritual." She turns, revealing her naked body that looks some what withered around the markings.

I toss the robe to the side to ask, "Are those painful?"

She looks back at me and smiles, "Yes, very much so." I wince at the evil in her voice.

_I almost, ALMOST forgot she was a ranking member of a cult until now._

She steps into the circle and her markings stop glowing. "These are specially made candles, they burn with a drop of my own blood in the fire, attuning them to my scars."

I swallow nervously, "Do you always need candles?"

She looks at me and shakes her head, "No, but for this specific one it's customary of my clan to do so. Normally I'd have one candle for every year I've been alive, but that would take too long and require too much of my blood for me to survive the setup."

I count the candles and find there's exactly twelve. "Why twelve then?"

She sighs as she folds her legs under herself in a meditative position, "One for every person I've killed." I feel a shiver run down my spine. "Now, once you're in the position, you require absolute focus on the most traumatic thing that's ever happened to you."

_Oh well that's easy._ I think sarcastically. _Now I have to depress my past to relive them before repressing them again? Fun._

"I can hear a whisper of your thoughts Scorpio. You need to practice your internal voice level." Neril states happily. I grumble under my breath in response and she smiles at me. "Anyways, then you have to... to-" She starts panting. "No. Nonono!" The candles burn out as she starts hyperventilating, making the room pitch-black. She bites her lip as I see tears rolling down her cheeks with my omni-tool's flashlight. She gasps and her scars flare before receding back to her right hand and the candles re-light. "There, now help me out of this... hole." She says, barely above a whisper. I take her hand and she steps outside of the circle, sniffling.

"Are you going to be alright?" I ask worriedly while wrapping her robes back around her.

She nods her head and takes a deep breath, "Yeah, just remember to keep your focus and delve into your worst memory and everything will be fine."

I look at the circle with severe anxiety, "I think I'll just work with my normal biotics for now."

She shakes her head, "Suit yourself, but it's only one of three ways to weaken your scars." She takes my right hand and pulls off the glove to show that my scars were already past the borders of the Prothean symbol.

_Why is everything in Prothean?! That's seriously starting to bug me._

"To go to Acerbus Infinium you just need to pass out during your worst memory and the power in your scar will do the rest."

Taking a deep breath, I step into the circle of candles and they go out. I ignore them and meditate on that night. The night of my first real trauma. The night I gained my nickname. I smell the freshly cut grass, the crisp night air, it rained... yeah it was raining for hours before, everything is wet. Something sharp hits my head and I open my eyes to find myself laying on the floor of the Marillin's office. Neril looks down at me a moment later and helps me up.

"Why did we get dropped here?" Neril asks as we look around to find no-one was around. She gasps, "Where's Cinthia!" She jumps to the little girl's corner and starts turning the small corner over, trying to find the little girl.

"Welcome back Kerik." I spin around at the sound of Marillin's voice and everything goes black...

"Oh..." Someone kicks my side and I cough out in pain before opening my eyes to see Marillin's shrouded figure staring smugly down at me.

"Daddy, please wake up!" My ears sharpen and I look to my left to see Cinthia being held back my two men in black cloaks.

"Don't hurt her!" I hear myself shout.

Marillin slams her heel down on my hand as I reach for Cinthia and I scream out as the small metal spear goes right through. "She is not your daughter, you are not Kerik." I look at Marillin and cringe as I see her black eyes smiling at me. "You will not take my realm away from me Scorpio." I move as she pulls her heel from my hand and she hits me over the head with something sharp.

"Ah!" I fall to the cold, hard stone and cover my bleeding head as she rips my dagger from my sleeve. "You bitch." I shout as she walks over to Cinthia.

She places the blade against the little girls throat and Cinthia starts whimpering, "Daddy!" The girl's eyes stare at me, pleading me to help her.

"Cinthia!" I try and move towards her and feel myself being held back by Marillin's goons.

"I warned you not to interfere." Marillin presses the blade against the tiny neck of the innocent child. "Now you will pay the price!"

"Cinthia!" I scream as the blade severs the girl's head from her body. I struggle as hard as I can against my captors, "Cinthia!" I scream as a part of me dies inside. Marillin drops my dagger to the floor, snaps her shadowy fingers, and I'm free. I rush towards her as fast as I can, screaming out in pure rage as I move, she kicks me to the side and I land on my shoulder, next to the little corpse and my dagger. Every bit of rage drains from me as I look into the cold... lifeless eyes of the seven year old... I let my tears drop as I mourn the small child and close her eyelids respectfully...

"There! You see?! He has murdered our beloved!" I turn my head and stare as the top four members of the order, their cult's head leaders, rush into the room. I recognize one as Grelin, Neril's friend.

They gasp as they stare at me, huddling over the small body, covered in my own blood with my own dagger laying not a foot away, stained with Cinthia's. "You monster!" One of them shouts.

"And here is his accomplice..." Marillin states while three of her goons drag Neril into the room, kicking and struggling to break free.

"Neril?" Grelin asks in shock as they drop her panting next to me. She looks up and pleads to him with her eyes.

"Grelin? You know this... traitor?" One of the other leaders asks.

He shakes his head quickly, "No! No, she's just Cinthia's former nurse. From back when Kerik guided us with his own hand. My father told me about her."

"You bastard!" Neril shouts at Grelin for his betrayal.

I wince as Marillin kicks her in the face and I struggle to help Neril as Marillin grabs my knife and walks towards her. She places the sharp, blood stained blade up against Neril's throat, "You DARE insult one as respected as the first Ordain?!" Marillin shouts fury.

"Don't touch her! She has nothing to do with this!" I shout desperately as her goons hold my arms back.

Marillin's eyes smile at me, "You would ask me to spare a traitor?" She asks in false surprise. I glare murderously at her, "You are no successor to Kerik!" She states angrily and swiftly slices Neril's throat.

"No!" I stare at Neril in complete shock as she falls forward and starts crawling towards me as she suffocates on her own blood. "Neril!" I scream in pain as she mouths, I love you Scorpio, her blood pouring from her neck and slipping out of her mouth. "No please Neril!" Her eyes loose their luster and she falls limp, all life gone from her body. Her dead eyes stare t in a permanent look of apology towards me as I shake with horror, my heart barely even beating. Marillin's goons force me to my kneels and Marillin puts the blade to my throat, "I'll kill you Marillin. I swear it." I growl out angrily. She just smiles and lifts my dagger up above her head to strike the final blow.

_This is it. This is how I'm going to die._

I close my eyes, waiting for the deed to be done.

*BOOM!*

"Ah!" I wince and throw my eyes open in shock as something explodes behind me, causing the goons restraining me to loosen their grip. I turn my head and see two more fiery explosions knock the four leaders away and I take my chance. Diving to the left, I throw Marillin's aim off, driving my dagger into the neck of one of her goons holding me. Now free, I dive for Marillin. I gasp as I pass right through her and land in the pool of Neril's blood. I shake in disgust as my hands and clothes soak up the purple liquid.

*BOOM!* Whipping my head around, I see the next explosion throw Marillin away from me and into a wall. Two more fire balls smash into the doorway, killing the remaining guards that were alerted to the situation.

_What's happening?!_

A dark figure lands in front of me with flaming forearms. My eyes adjust to the bright flames and-

_What in the fuck?!_

"MEIN?!" I practically scream out in shock.

My jaw drops as she tosses her black hair out of her face and crosses her arms to say, "What? Expecting someone else?"

_WHAT THE FUCK!_

I stare at her, dumbstruck and beyond confused. She looks around before picking something up and tossing it at me. I grab it out of the air instinctively and stare at my bloody dagger horror. "We have to move!" She shouts. I stand, gripping my dagger with all my anger and take one look at Marillin as I spot her beyond a wall of flames. I glare daggers at her and close my eyes, it wasn't the right time. "Fucking move Scorpio!" I quickly kneel down and close Neril's eyes, saying a small prayer to the Goddess as I do.

_I'll make sure she pays Neril, I swear it._

"Son of a bitch!" I turn and see Neril dodging a sword before erupting it's owner in a burst of flames. "Get your ass over here! We're out of time!" I have no arguments and I run after her, through the flames, and out of the interrogation room.

We quickly turn a corner and enter the hall to- "Stop!" Three goons in heavy black robes hold out swords at us, blocking our path. I try and build up my biotics and panic as they don't work.

Mein throws a fireball to incinerate the two on the right while I improvise by tossing my dagger into the last guys throat. He gargles on his own blood and he falls to his knees as I quickly approach, "Sorry." I apologize before ripping my blade out of his neck, killing him.

"Nice work." Mein compliments as we continue through the halls.

"Thanks." I respond blankly.

_I hope Neril's alright back in the real world._

"Watch out!" I duck under a sword and stab the female Turian through the jaw and into the brain before swearing at my quick reflexes and moving on.

_I'm SO glad my dad taught me how to use knives in combat!_

Mein flames three enemies as I sheath my blade and grab the Turian's heavy Katana. I watch Mein closely and find her using her red, duel omni-tools to set the people aflame.

_Damn... I need to get myself a better incinerate program._

A Batarian wielding a cleaver jumps out of the woodworks behind Mein as she's blasting two more cultists with incinerates.

_SHIT!_

I dive forwards, swinging the long blade with all my strength at the Batarian and catching him in the chest. He yelps as I pull the heavy blade out of his torso and quickly decapitate him, showering us in a fountain of orange blood. Mein looks behind her in surprise and laughs before silently thanking me with a nod and pointing towards a doorway on our right. "There! That's the way out!" We run down the passage and end up in a large hall. I look around to rind it empty, and the one I remember from my first time in the realm. Mein stops immediately and turns to me, "Give me your dagger." She hold out her hand. I hesitate and she rips it out of my sheath. She grabs my right hand forcefully, causing me to drop the heavy Katana. "We need to disconnect from Acerbus Infinium while we still have time." She urgently whispers while checking we were alone.

"H-How are we going to do that?" I ask urgently. She turns my hand over to reveal the symbol. I wince in pain and flex my hand as she cuts a thin line down the center of the symbol. She scrapes the serrated blade against the skin, and I have to turn away to avoid crying out in pain. She stops and I look back to see my blood covering the symbol and dripping onto the floor as my hand shakes. I feel something let go of my mind and I fall to my knees while gripping my bleeding hand in shock. Mein does the same with her symbol and hands me the dagger. I reluctantly take it with shaky hands and she grabs me, "Come find me when you wake up!" She shouts before I blink and gasp as a blast of energy throws all my thoughts into disarray. I wake up to reality and cough out from my position on the floor. I roll only my side and gasp for air before relaxing as I gain control of myself again.

_God, my head fucking hurts._

I groan before sitting up.

_What the hell happ-?_

Everything from the other realm hits me like a ton of bricks.

_Fucking Marillin! She'll pay for what she's done! Wait, Neril!_

My eyes scan the dark apartment, "LIA turn on the lights!" I order desperately. I'm blinded for a moment before I spot her laying against the couch, her head listing to one side. I rush over and cup her face in my hands, "Neril! Neril wake up!" I shake her gently and she doesn't respond. I let my memories of my limited medical training take over and check her eyes to see them unresponsive. "Fuck, fuckfuckfuck." I rip off my right glove and shakily check her pulse. I wait, and wait. "Come on damn it!" I try and check her carotid artery again and drop my hand in shock when I don't find a pulse. "She- She's..." Tears start to fill my eyes. "Damn it!" I punch the couch. "Neril I'm so..." My voice dies in my throat and I choke out a sob before gently laying her on her back and folding her hands over her stomach. respectfully. "May t-the Goddess have you at her s-side." I recite through my sobs. I sniffle and cover her with her robes, still in shock from how quickly it happened.

_Why? Why did this happen?_

The apartment door flies open and I look up quickly to see Mein rushing inside. "Neril's dead." I choke out.

Mein stops to stare at me before looking at Neril's covered body and shaking her head, "That doesn't matter now, Marillin WILL find us and WILL kill us if we don't destroy the evidence!" I look at her in confusion.

_What is she talking about?_

She growls before pushing me away from Neril, I fall back and accidentally knock over a candle, igniting the carpet. "Fuck fuck fuck!" I shout as I rush to the kitchen in panic and quickly fill up a glass of water before running back and dowsing the flames.

_Phew... that was close._

Mein stares at the burned carpet for a moment before looking at the couch and back to Neril. "Aha!" She exclaims, making me jump a little. She kneels down and retrieves a knife from her boot. She then uncovers Neril's body and grabs her left arm. She places the blade against the pale skin and pushes down, I heave and turn away as she starts making a large incision into Neril's left arm.

"What are you doing?!" I exclaim in disgust. She ignores me and I look back as she pulls out a small computer chip from the dead flesh and plugs it into her omni-tool.

She stands up and points at me. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE NOW!" I jump in shock and drop the glass onto a candle plate, shattering it. I look down and try to clean it up before I feel Mein grab me and toss me towards the door. I stagger and loose my balance, falling out the door as Mein follows me out. I groan as I hit my head against the hallway wall and turn around to stare at her as she seals my door shut and presses something on her omni-tool.

*boom* I jump as my apartment door jumps slightly and cracks as smoke leaks out into the hallway. "Incendiary grenades in the cushions, good job Neril. Always prepared for the worse." She says sadly.

_She just blew up my apartment._

"Why did you just blow up my apartment?" I ask blankly as I slowly stand up.

She flicks the blood off her knife and onto my suit before sheathing it back into her boot. "Insurance, Neril's body needed to be destroyed to cut off Marillin's access to this location."

I frown at her in confused aggravation, "Yeah I got that, but why did you need to blow up my apartment! I still had all of my stuff in there!" I hold up my bare right hand, "And one of my gloves!"

She types on her omni-tool, "Best and quickest option." She sighs, "We were close, I detect a receding field of negative dark energy in the immediate area." She holds up a finger to stop my rebuttal. I frown and look past her to see flames licking their way through the melting metal door, "Oh, and one more thing." I look at her.

"Yeah?" I growl angrily. She flicks her omni-tool at me and I gasp in shock as a burst of flames engulfs my suit. "AH!" I scream out as my armor starts melting in some places. "Fuck! Ah!" I try and pat down the molten liquid and scream out as my right hand catches on fire as a result. "Fuck fuck fuck!" Warnings blare in my ears about overheats and some systems shutting down as I fall to my kneel in shock from the intense pain. I grip my right hand in searing pain as I see my flesh start to fall off. I stop screaming when the incinerate finally burns through my armor and I shut my eyes, focusing on not passing out.

Mein slaps me and I fall onto my side and start panting in shock to try and keep myself stable. She grabs me by the arms and slams me into the wall, "Shut up!" I wince from the sudden impact and force myself to focus on her to lower the pain. "You were caught in a fire and jumped out into the hallway as the visiting attendant was engulfed you got that?" I nod at her quickly and choke out a yes before she pours something over my head that instantly puts out the flames. My adrenaline hits me and I shake in shock as I stand up carefully to realize my right hand was scorched and not responding to my neural impulses.

_Oh god._

I heave again as the smell of my burned flesh hits me. "Now hurry up." Mein shoves me down the hall. "You need to get to a hospital." I try not to move my mildly burned chest and severely burned hand too much as we wake through the lobby and I let a tear loose when I spot Neril's desk.

_I'm so sorry Neril..._

We move past the arriving fire teams and Mein guides me to an awaiting skycar. I look back to see the entire first floor explode into an inferno and gasp as the rush of air blasts what's left of my hood clean off my head.

_God... how many grenades did you put in my couch Neril?_

Mein throws me into the back of a skycar and I cringe in pain before rolling over as she takes off.

_Fucking hell, those incinerate programs are no joke._

I internally laugh at my situation and shut my eyes tight to block out the bleeding silence. I feel the skycar shift and dodge out of the way of unseen objects and vehicles as we speed away. I can feel nothing but pain and suffering, physical and psychological, burn through my mind.

My eyes shoot open as I remember something.

_What will burn?_

The question pierces my mind and tears well up in my eyes, threatening to escape. I carefully sit up while holding my charred and bleeding right hand.

_I know my answer now._

My heart starts beating faster and faster and I feel my breathing getting difficult as my sight starts to blacken. "Hold on Dylan! Just hold on!" Mein shouts as she accelerates the skycar beyond it's threshold. I gasp for air and just close my eyes and let the darkness overcome me. "Scorpio...!"

* * *

_I hope this works..._

Rila takes a deep breath and goes over her story again before letting it out and palming the door controls. The door flies open to show Commissioner Ceal typing away at her desk, a permanent frown creasing her sharply slanted tattooed eyebrows that make her look almost comically furious when you piss her off. She stops typing and looks up without changing her expression, "Rila, come in, sit down." Ceal indicates what the APC likes to call the Chair of Tears. Commissioner Ceal is renown for her ability to make her officers burst into tears when they disappoint her and are consequentially called up for a 'friendly chat'.

Rila shakes her head and stands behind the chair instead, "No thank you, what I have to say requires more serious attention."

Ceal watches Officer Rila carefully, she was her favorite officer, always working overtime on a case, always ready to kick someone's ass to get the information she needed, always attentive to the concerns of her fellow officers. It angered Ceal immensely when she heard Officer Rila was severely injured because of a miss-reported incident. A small smile pulls at her lips as she remembers how easily the operator broke under her iron grip when she sat her in the chair. Ceal leans forward, ready to hear what concern Rila has.

Rila swallows nervously, she always hated complaining, but her fellow officers needed new equipment and she had personally suffered because of it. Her lips twitch into a small smile.

_And Scorpio's company depends on this deal so I'll do anything and everything I can to repay him for saving my life._

"As you well know, I was involved in a shootout a few days ago while on a routine dispatch to the Community Center." Ceal nods, she remembers it well. "I would like to report that my faulty equipment was to blame for my resulting injuries."

Ceal blinks in surprise and folds her hands in her lap as she sits up straight to say, "What faulty equipment?"

Rila crosses her arms and frowns in deep thought, "My assault rifle is scrap now since it was instantly hacked and sliced in half by a homeless Turian, my pistol quit firing the moment it jammed as it unfolded, and my shields and armor didn't hold back one barrage of gunfire from two pistols." Ceal stares at Rila. "I almost died because our equipment is outdated! And if MY equipment failed even with my constant maintenance then I don't know how long the rest of the stock will hold us in a firefight."

Ceal lowers her head and stares at her desk in deep thought, it was a problem, but was it worth the cost? "How would you justify spending millions of credits to upgrade our equipment?" Ceal asks.

Rila fidgets slightly, this was the moment of truth. She takes a deep breath, plants her feet, and steels her resolve. "With the growing eclipse presence on Thessia and public acknowledgment of a terrorist attack on the Blue-Suns we could request more funding from the Matriarchs to combat the growing unrest."

Ceal smiles slightly, she's got to give Rila some credit, she knew how to work over the Matriarchs. "Alright, I'll make a request and I'll let you decide how we spend the credits. Find the best for the cheapest Rila."

Rila reels back in shock, "Y-You want me to decide?" She asks incredulously.

Ceal nods without reservation, "You have a great attention to detail Rila, you know what we need and probably a great way to get it."

Rila nods, "Yeah a good friend of mine is starting a new weapons manufacturing company whe-"

Ceal cuts her off, "I don't want any details, just get our equipment upgraded and fast. When you walked in I was reading a report of another bombing."

Rila's smile drops, "How bad?"

Ceal sighs and re-reads the report, "Ten injured, one in critical condition, one confirmed death, and an entire apartment building went up in flames."

Rila swallows as she has an uneasy feeling in her gut, "When did it happen?"

Ceal folds her hands and says, "Just an hour ago, what's strange about it all is that the one person in critical condition is a human." Rila freezes.

No...

Ceal frowns and mutters, "I swear if it's another anti-alien terrorist from Cerberus I'll strangle the dull stone with my bare hands."

Rila's omni-tool beeps with a new message and she shakily opens it. She reads it and she feels her entire world start to crash down around her. Ceal notices and asks, "Hey, you alright Rila?" Rila lowers her arm and stares at the floor in shock, "Rila?"

She swallows and takes in a shaky breath before saying quietly, "I have to take the rest of the day off..."

Ceal watches her with concern and silently nods in acceptance, "Alright, you take care now."

Rila calmly turns and walks out of Ceal's office, down the hall, and into the elevator. She greets the other officers inside and waits for them to reach the ground floor. Rila steps out and clocks her time with the attendant at her desk in the lobby. "You have a wonderful day now." The attendant states. Rila doesn't smile back. As she steps into her personal shuttle parked on the street she opens up the message once again. EMERGENCY, HOSPITAL, CRITICAL, and EXPLOSION all scream back at her. She shuts her eyes and starts her skycar before taking a deep breath and hitting the accelerator, blasting through a stoplight and towards the Medical Center as sirens echo off in the distance.

* * *

"Hold your arm higher Nihlus!" Nihlus growls back in response, he wasn't having a good time. He sighs as he fires his assault rifle and misses the target, AGAIN.

"You are impossible!" Nihlus growls in his throat as Saren reprimands him for missing AGAIN, "You are a disgrace to the Turian people! You need to be focused! Alert! Able to take down your target without mercy!" Nihlus stands still, taking the barrage of curses and foul language Saren was fond of using during their training sessions. "I don't even know why I'm here if you can't shoot a damn TARGET!" Nihlus growls but holds his tongue, knowing it'll be over soon if he just shuts his trap. "Your own MOTHER would disown you!" He grinds his sharp teeth in aggravation as Saren stomps off to find something to punch to get over his anger. *BANG!* Nihlus smiles as he hears Saren punch the bulkhead.

_There we go._

He raises his rifle and fires a perfect headshot into the holo target with a three round burst. *BANG!* He smiles contently, he LOVED pissing off his mentor. *BANG!*

Nihlus turns to find Spectre Alus Pallen standing there, shaking his head, "You know he hates it when you miss on purpose right?" He asks with a small smile lifting his Mandibles.

Nihlus smirks, "You know... maybe next time I'll fake a shoulder injury just to see if he'll threaten to toss me out the airlock." Alus laughs and drops his mandibles in surprise. Nihlus sighs, "He's standing right behind me isn't he?" Alus nods and Nihlus turns to get punched in the jaw. He groans painfully and rubs his face while cringing from Saren's monstrous glare.

Saren clenches his fists for a moment before smiling, "Nihlus, it looks like it's your lucky day." Nihlus looks at him worriedly, "You're on point." Nihlus freezes up. They were enroute to an Eclipse cargo carrier that was rumored to be housing the WMD's they've been hunting for over the last two months and being point means taking lead of the situation.

Nihlus gulps, his aching mandible completely forgotten. He salutes and states reluctantly, "I'll do my best sir." Now completely aware of how sinister Saren was when he was angry. Saren pats him on the shoulder, "You'll do fine Nihlus. Just make sure the rest of us don't leave you behind this time." Nihlus gulps again, remembering when Saren left him trapped in a cargo freighter full of Blood Pack Vorcha and Varren to fend for himself.

_Saren might be cruel and sinister, but he knows how to motivate you to fight for your life._

Saren walks off towards the airlock along with Alus and Nihlus on his heels. "You really had to piss him off huh." Alus comments while they dock with the emergency port of the Eclipse cargo carrier. Nihlus shrugs with a smirk in response. Alus shakes his head and cocks his shotgun in preparation as Nihlus readies his AR and picks up his helmet from it's rack beside him.

_If only someone found a way to make these damn things fit on our suits we wouldn't have to run around with them on all the time._

Saren throws his helmet on and knocks the side of it as the seal fails for the eleven-billionth time and his VI indicates the seal corrected itself. "Damn helmets..." He mutters in response. He looks behind him to see Alus hadn't put on his helmet yet. "Alus, if you don't want to suffocate to death then put on your damn helmet."

Alus smirks and taps a code on his omni-tool, instantly his thick collar cracks and Saren and Nihlus stare in shock as metal plates fold over his fringe and head to form a perfectly sleek, sealed, helmet. They stare in shock as Alus folds his arms and states, "You were saying?"

Nihlus stutters before asking, "How the hell did that just happen?!"

Alus laughs, "It's a new model that came out for Spectre-level equipment just last week, they cost a lot and need constant calibrations, but look at the result." Alus spins for them and Nihlus shakes his head.

_I have got to get me one of those._

"Airlock disengaged, Logged: Boarding party is away." They all cringe as the mono-toned VI plainly blares over their helmets speakers.

"Here we go, Nihlus, up front!" Saren shouts as the airlock opens to show the Eclipse Carrier's boarding tunnel retracting away from their ship.

_Fuck!_

They all quickly take a step back and run before leaping through the vacuum, drifting closer and closer until they touch down on the still retracting docking clamp and run up to the Carrier's airlock. "Get it open." Nihlus orders as Alus quickly kneels at the control panel and takes out a knife to pry the panel open. "Ten seconds." Nihlus reports as he sees their cramped tunnel disappearing before his eyes.

Alus growls out, "It'll take just a few more seconds." His gloved talons take out a wire cutter and he spices to of the wires together before tying it off that typing in the emergency access code he programmed. "There!" The airlock opens and they all dive to the floor as Eclipse operatives fly out of the airlock and silently scream as they suffocate to death in the vacuum. "Damn, glad I bought this helmet." Alus comments as he looks over his shoulder to watch an eye pop out of an Asari's head.

Nihlus shivers and flicks the eyeball back out into space before standing up and rushing into the open airlock with Alus and Saren. Alus seals the door behind them and brings up a map he downloaded of the ship, "Ok, it looks like the secondary cargo bay has the WMDs. It's right next to an industrial-sized airlock we can use to escape." He points out the two locations as the room automatically re-pressurizes.

Nihlus nods, "It looks like we can use either the main halls and go through the crew quarters to get down there or take bridge access, seal off the ship, and crawl in using the ducts."

Saren nods in silent agreement and Alus types up Bridge as their destination, "No-brainer we take the Bridge, cripple their escape capabilities." Alus comments professionally.

Nihlus nods and they ready themselves as the doors open up to show an empty hallway. "Huh, thats strange, no welcoming party?" Nihlus carefully looks around for any place of ambush and sees none, "I don't like this, stay sharp." Alus nods and Saren simply growls in response.

* * *

Nihlus finishes off the last of bridge security with a burst of AR fire thats rips the last Asari's chest apart. "Clear!"

Alus walks up to start hacking through the ship's systems. "Huh."

Nihlus walks up to look over his shoulder, "What is it Alus?

Alus shrugs, "I can't really tell, but it looks like they... abandoned ship?"

Nihlus shakes his head, "That isn't right, the scanners here report all life pods are still within their bays." He taps the display next to Alus.

Alus frowns from under his helmet, "The captain, was... a Krogan?" He states in disbelief.

"Impossible, a Krogan couldn't lead a Varren much less a pack of them." Saren finally graces them with his presence and speaks up for the first time since they arrived.

"Nice of you to join us." Nihlus comments happily, Saren glares at him through his helmet.

Alus shakes his head, "This doesn't make sense. It shows one... Urdnot Kantor is the acting captain of this Vessel."

Saren growls, "This is irrelevant, we are here to secure the WMD's and dispose of them properly not worry about whether the Captain was an Asari or not."

Nihlus looks at Saren for a moment before sighing, "Yeah, right. now where are the maintenance ducts?"

Alus points to the wall on their right, "Right over there, I'll just..." He types quickly on the panel and all the doors are heard slamming shut before the wall cracks open to show a ladder going down. "There we go, everything is in lock down, we just need to get to the WMDs and secure them."

Nihlus replaces his rifle for his shotgun and walks over, "Then we can get the hell out of here and you can tell me where the hell you found that helmet." Alus chuckles lightly and Saren sighs.

* * *

"Spirits I hate tight spaces." Nihlus grumbles while crawling through the dark, cramped, maintenance shaft. He can FEEL the walls start caving in and stops to take a deep breath.

"Hurry up Nihlus you're falling behind." Saren growls angrily as he crawls up to meet Nihlus' feet with Alus not far behind.

Nihlus takes another deep breath, "I'm not fond of cramped spaces." He whispers before sucking in his stomach and quickening his pace through the duct and up to the exit hatch. He grabs the release and turns it before pushing the small door open.

_Whoever designed this ship needs to be shot._

Nihlus barely squeezes his torso through before rolling onto his feet and kneeling behind a crate. He peeks around the dark cargo bay and sees nothing, it's absolutely quiet. Unnervingly so. "All clear, but this place is giving me the creeps." He reports.

Alus and Saren climb out and drop into kneeling positions and cover Nihlus as he rounds his corner and scans the area. Nothing. He moves around another huge crate, and another, and another and he can't find any sign of life. "All clear." He states reluctantly. Something wasn't right, he could feel it in his bones.

Alus walks up, "Hey, how you doing?" He asks worriedly.

Nihlus shakes his head, "I don't like this, lets crack open a crate and take a look at what we have."

Alus agrees and walks up to one of the larger ones before hacking into the door panel. Saren and Nihlus stand and wait as the door unseals, weapons raised. The door opens. "What the-?" Nihlus lowers his rifle slightly as he sees a monstrously huge mech staring back at him.

"That's..." Saren stares in awe as he has to crane his neck back to look the mech in the 'eye'. He shakes his head, "Alus what are we looking at?"

Types up the manifest and looks up the crate, "It's a... YMIR mech?"

"What the hell is a YMIR mech?" Nihlus asks as he steps slowly up to the titan.

"Some sort of experimental Heavy Mech the Eclipse apparently have been developing." Alus scrolls down to the specs, "Whoa... it has a chain machine gun and rockets for weaponry." Nihlus brushes his gloved talon over the hard armor casings on the titan's legs as Alus continues. "According to this, it has enough battery life and... cooling rods to keep firing for over six hours straight."

Saren growl in deep thought, "This must be the WMDs the Council advised us about. This one mech looks like it could tear apart six Krogan with ease before being disabled." Nihlus silently agrees, it was a monster of an advantage in close combat.

"Twelve actually." The three Spectres turn and whip out their weapons as they hear the voice echo through the cargo bay. "But you'll see for yourself soon enough." Nihlus growls as he hears more than a dozen crates being activated. "Surrender and you will be spared." A screen pops up above them they hadn't seen before, depicting the captain of this vessel, Urdnot Kantor with a huge devious grin on his ugly face.

"Spectres don't surrender! Now under the authority of the Council we are placing you under arrest for conspiracy to commit a terroristic attack!" Saren shouts out of in-borne defiance. Nihlus glares to his left at him for miss-stating Nihlus' true position as recruit, but nods in agreement none-the-less.

"I won't be going anywhere, you on the other hand have a very special role to play in our plans Saren." Kantor presses a button and grins.

A mechanical rumbling starts up behind them and Nihlus gulps before turning to see the metal titan come to life before their eyes. The YMIR stomps out of the crate, "Targets acquired." It states as it raises it's left arm and prepares to fire. The Spectres start to run for any cover they can find as a rocket launches and catches Alus by surprise before he makes it to cover, He screams as he's blown back and knocked unconscious as his helmeted head slams against another crate.

"Alus!" Nihlus yells from cover. He hears the Mech stomp once and look left to see it's right arm's machine gun spinning up, it's sights trained on Alus. "Spirts Alus get up!" He yelps.

Saren taps his shoulder and calls, "Cover me!" Nihlus growls in disagreement but opens fire on the mech, he's able to barely capture the mech's attention long enough for Saren to drag Alus into cover across from him.

"FUCK!" He swears as his shields are torn apart by the mech's machine gun arm. He ducks into cover, waiting for his shields to recover.

_How are we going to take this thing down?!_

*PING! Hiss...* Nihlus' eyes widen as a stray shot hits a containment cell next to him. "Oh fu-!" *BOOM!* He's thrown out of cover and into the direct line of fire.

"Hold on!" Saren shouts as he throws a grenade, a heavy warp, and fires on the Mech from his cover. The grenade barely makes a dent in the mechs massive shields, but the warp forces the mech to focus on him. "I've got him distracted!"

Nihlus shakes his daze away and shifts around to realize his helmet was destroyed. He rips it off and rolls onto his stomach as his ears continue to ring to see Saren motioning his hands for Nihlus to get out of there. A muffled explosion hits Saren's cover and he's thrown away. "No..." Nihlus gasps as the mech rips Alus's prone form apart with another rocket, showering the area with pieces of armor, body parts, and blue blood. "Alus!" He screams.

His ears stop ringing and he grips his talons around his rifle with ferocious dedication as Kantor's voice blares overhead, "Die pathetic Turians! HAHAHA!"

Nihlus gets to his knees before he winces and applies medi-gel to a wound on his leg. "Spirits..." He takes a breath and activates his adrenaline rush on his armor. instantly his breathing increases, his vision sharpens, all he sees is the mech, Saren, and Kantor. Nihlus jumps up, firing at the mech while prepping two grenades. He dashes forward as the mech turns to swing it's massive arm at him. Nihlus ducks under it and shoves a grenade into each of the mech's legs before rolling out of the way. The YMIR turns around towards him and they detonate, shredding the armor and circuits that hold the titan up. it falls forwards as Nihlus pants from the exertion. The titan dies at his feet as his adrenaline wears off. "Fuck..." He comments before coughing from the smoke he inhaled.

_The bigger they are..._

"Oh..." Nihlus turns towards his left and groans as he finally feels is face screaming at him in pain. He ignores it and jogs forward towards Saren's last position. "Saren?" He calls out through the smoke. He looks around blindly and coughs from the increasing level of smoke.

_Why did I choose Incendiary grenades again?_

*cough, cough, cough* Nihlus stops as he sees the severed torso and head of Alus and cringes. "Spirits..." He looks over the body and notices that the folding helmet was pretty much the only thing that survived the explosion. "Damn, I'm sorry Alus..." Nihlus silents prays for his fallen friend's soul. "Forgive me Alus, but I need a helmet to get out of here and mine is crap." Nihlus grabs onto the folding helmet and carefully rips it off of it's owner. He cringes as he notices the splattered brains inside and reluctantly puts it on. "Fuck." *COUGH COUGH* "Alus your brain smells terrible!" He comments as it seals onto his own suit properly. He sighs and arms his rifle before running ahead to find Saren and blow up this damn ship.

"Argh, spirits get your hands off of me!" Nihlus activates the heat vision on his new helmet and sees four signatures and a Krogan dragging a Turian away from him not ten meters ahead. Nihlus runs ahead and quickly approaches.

"We have plans for you Saren, now stop your struggling!" Nihlus looks around a corner and sees the Krogan Kantor knock Saren out with his fist as Nihlus hides behind a crate. Nihlus checks the amount of contacts once again and jumps out of cover, firing at the door as it closes and seals shut.

He bangs his fist against the thick metal. "Damn it!" *BEEP! Hiss...* Nihlus freezes and turns around to find every, single, crate opening.

_Oh... fuck me!_

He spins around and bangs on the door twice before hearing laughter from behind it, "HAHAHA! Turian, you are going to die like your friend." Kantor mocks. Nihlus growls and searches for a panel. He finds one next to the door and breaks it open with the butt of his rifle as the mechs activate behind him.

_FUCK FUCK FUCK!_

He grinds his teeth as he stares at the clump of wires uneasily, he never thought learning how to splice a door control was a required skill when he became a Spectre recruit. "Come on, come on. Nihlus think!" He shouts. He growls out in frustration and starts cutting wires and splicing them randomly. The panel shorts out as a result. "FUCK!" He hears the mechs start stomping towards him and looks over his shoulder to find hundreds of ground troop mechs. "Spirits..." He turns back and starts punching the panel in desperation. Miraculously the door opens after three punches. "THANK THE SPIRITS!" Nihlus dives through and shoots the adjacent panel just as the mechs start shooting. The door control fails and it slams shut. He sighs in relief as he hears thousands of pings bouncing off the plated door. "I am going to take a hacking class after this mission ends." Nihlus mutters as he catches his breath and slows his pounding heart.

Suddenly the entire ship starts shaking and he falls against the wall for support. "What the hell?" The shaking stops and he hears something launching. He rushes around the corner and quickly shoots at two eclipse that were just entering a life pod. Nihlus' precision shots execute them on the spot and he runs forward to look out of a window in the life pod. "Spirits..." Nihlus watches as the last of the life pods, except for his, drift away from the carrier to be picked up by a massive ship. Nihlus zooms in and sees the Batarian name crossed out with paint and an Eclipse symbol stamped to it's right. "That's... by the spirts... the Eclipse have a Batarian Hensa-class cruiser?!" Nihlus gawks out of the small port in shock before freezing as he sees the massive side-mounted triple-barreled cannons turning onto the carrier. "SHIT!" *BOOM!* Nihlus quickly jumps to the controls of his life pod and activates the launching sequence. He grinds his teeth as the cruiser rips entire decks of the carrier apart. "Come on damn it!" He hits the release and the pod launches. Nihlus grabs onto whatever he can as the entire pod rocks and shakes violently in the wake of the carrier's implosion. He looses his grip on the controls and flies into the wall. Everything goes black.

* * *

Kantor smiles deliciously as he sees the carrier ripped apart by his superior fire power. "Sir what would you have us do with the Spectre?" Kantor turns in his massive chair centered in the front of the cruiser's command center to stare at the two Asari lieutenants blankly. They fidget under his gaze.

Kantor's expression solidifies, "Sedate him, just like we planned." They bow respectully to him and he spins back to look out the massive viewing port and at the dingy scout vessel the Spectres used to fall into his trap. "Fire on that vessel! I don't want any chances a survivor could escape." Just as he finishes his sentence the forward cannon blasts the ship into space dust. Kantor grins, "Now bring me that Asari I have on ice! I feel like a victory meal is in order." Another Asari blanches and nods before dashing off to fullfill his request. Kantor smirks, "I love being in charge."

* * *

"Have to get through! I have to see him!" Rila shoves past her friends, the nurses, the doctors and punches the door control to the hospital room. The door opens to the sight of a lone Human, his torso and most of his right arm covered in bandages, staring off into space. "S-Scorpio?" Rila asks, nearly in tears. He looks down from the ceiling and she feels her heart sink at the defeated look in his eyes. "S-Scorpio?" She asks, her voice wavering. He takes a deep breath and winces in pain. Rila jumps to his side and cups his cheek, "Are you alright?" He looks up at her with dead eyes and nods slightly. She sniffles and closes her eyes as he covers her hand with his left. "I was so worried that you'd-" She chokes out before she feels her hand being pulled away. She opens her eyes and sees Scorpio placing her hand onto bed and looking away. Rila's lower lip wavers as she sees a tear fall from the corner of his eye.

"Please... I need to rest." Scorpio chokes out, his voice betraying his calm stature. She watches him close his eyes and turn his head away, looking almost ashamed.

"A-Alright. I'll wait-" She places her hand over his left. "for you to wake up." She sees him cringe and nod slightly before pulling his left hand away. Rila walks out and sits down next to Mein and across from Seila and Tel, trying to hold back her rush of emotions.

_I'll wait for you to wake up._

She smiles internally at her words. She really meant to say, _I'll always wait for you... always._

* * *

Mein scoffs as Seila and Tel fail to keep Rila from entering Scorpio's room. "I don't understand why she's freaking out so much it was just third degree burns." Seila asks as she and Tel sit across from her.

Tel shrugs, "I couldn't give you an answer."

Mein sighs and closes her omni-tool, "You two are really blind aren't you?" They stare at her in confusion. "Rila secretly loves Scorpio."

"What?!" Seila exclaims in shock.

Tel smiles, "Oh! Ok, now I see it. Huh, I never thought Rila was that type of woman."

Seila looks at him and asks, "What do you mean?"

Tel shrugs, "You know, the type of woman to fall in love with a mysterious man that shows up to rescue her from certain death."

Mein smirks, "You do know that that's the ideal man to most women right?" Seila nods in agreement.

Tel blinks in surprise, "Wait... you mean you two-?" Mein nods and Seila shakes her head. "Ok... this is news to me. I always thought women wanted a sweet and sensitive guy that likes to program starships."

Seils starts to silently giggle and Mein quickly goes back to her Omni-tool as Rila walks out and sits to Mein's right. Mein watches her for a second before seeing something in Rila's eyes brighten.

_Hmph, when are they going to get a room?_

She ignores everyone and everything around her to go back to her latest schematic for enhanced shielding capacitors on armor.

_If Scorpio gets this company off the ground, then things could get very... interesting..._

* * *

A/N And there you go! A bit of a plot twist for you all!

To everyone that liked Neril's character I apologize, but she had to go. Scorpio needed a bit more psychological scarring. ;)

And for everyone who will eventually think it, No Mein is not 'D'. 'D' is the main antagonist of the entire series and Mein is a psychologically messed up Quarian that likes doing experiments and joining cults... and setting people on fire.

Oh, and to ease all your minds... I am NOT, repeat NOT going to do an entire twelve years day by day, chapter by chapter. I'm going to jump forward a bit every so often to only give the important stuff of Scorpio's journey actual chapters so this PRE ME1 entry doesn't end up being over 400,000 words. This marks the first 'jump'. The next chapter is set a few months in the future. (Coming soon I promise!) :)


	15. Rebuild With Laughter

A/N I've finally moved on... four months into the future! :D

Have a great time everyone! Ch. 16 is coming asap! I'm finally falling into a good rhythm between work and this. Chapters will be arriving around every two to four days for the coming future!

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Laugh your ass off for me! :)

* * *

Four months. It's been four months since the... fire. Thats all it was to everyone. A fire. Not to me, not to you, not to Neril. SIGH I just can't stop it. Every month on the exact same date my mind wanders back to that moment, I usually end up in tears, wondering what I did wrong, what I could have done to change it, what I could have done more to save her, to save both of them. Then I remember the blood, the fighting, Marillin... SIGH You usually would come by to see how I was doing, we'd talk about the situation in Acerbus Infinium and adjust our plans when we start to lose Marillin's position. You say we're getting close but I don't see it. All I see is smoke, the fire, the... screaming. Oh god the screaming. It took weeks for the screaming to finally stop. Every time I'd close my eyes I'd see them, Neril and Cinthia, dying in front of me all over again. Without Neril, I lost any hope of learning about Eternity. Without Cinthia, everyone in Acerbus Infinium lost any hope of living. What Marillin failed to realize was that in killing Cinthia, she put the knife to the heart of the entire cult. People screaming, crying... killing... the entire hellish place literally turning into the nightmare that it really is. You said that according to Grelin, who decided to leave Marillin's services, the entire population up-rose against any thought that Kerik would ever return. All order vanished after that, and Marillin disappeared within two months... never to be seen again. All it is, is a nightmare now.

You said it would be easier for me to sleep now that you severed my link to Acerbus Infinium, now that my... sensitivity to negative dark energy was fixed. My hand healed up just fine, no scars, no glowing symbol. It's like the whole ordeal never happened. Like it was all just a terrible dream. I'm sleeping full nights now. It's doing wonders for my energy in the morning. The company is doing great, we're making a sizable profit. The Migrant Fleet even wanted to give me a commendation for helping your entire species out from financially collapsing. I turned them down. You found out and asked why. I told you that I don't need a signed document telling me I'm doing something good when I can see it every day I go to work. You just scoffed and told me I was going insane. I'm not going insane.

My training at AAH is a great distraction from the stress of running a company everyone hates and loves. Aethyta even says I'm a natural at the art of using biotics in intense combat. It looks like I'll make it through her staring at my body luridly every day after all. She tried to get me to 'take her in the closet' but I turned her down and said I wasn't interested. She was a bit disappointed in me because of that. My biotics are... stabilizing. I can still barely DO anything beyond a biotic dome, throw, pull, and a weak warp but I'm learning. Aethyta started me on an exercise regiment and signed me up in a Biotic Martial Arts class as you know. I'm enjoying the control it gives me. The feeling that I'm not just... losing my mind slowly. SIGH... Rila and I keep in touch if you care. We usually go out to dinner once a week so we, or really I can talk to someone. She's really nice, intelligent, gifted and dedicated to helping me recover. I'm worried that if I let her get too close... well. I even started enjoying my life until the nightmares started up again a month ago. I'm just... done. Four months after watching my first girlfriend and a little girl die because of me and I'm... done. Sick of sulking, sick of hunting down Marillin, sick of having to deal with reliving it every fucking night! Mein... I know you are still hunting down Marillin. I know you still want revenge for her ruining your life, killing your best friend, but I don't. I no-longer wish to see Marillin dead. Wherever she is she's living with the fact that her greed destroyed everything good in her life. Everything good in the entire cult's live's. I don't want you coming by any more, I don't want you to talk about any of it ever again to me. I AM DONE. I am NOT a murderer like you, I only kill if I NEED to kill not whenever the mood strikes me. So... yeah. You can still work in research and development if you wish, but I personally never want to talk anything but business with you ever again.

Sincerely yours,

Dylan David Scorpio, CEO of Evron Armories.

* * *

I look over the letter one last time before I hit send and feel a weight being lifted off of my shoulders. I look up slightly and see the date, 3-6-2172, I smile for the first time in four months. I can finally smile again. I decided to give up and start over. I bought a new apartment in a new building. I finally rebuilt my damn skycar. But what's really something to smile about is that I haven't had a nightmare in three days. My eyes wander up and over the warehouse I own, I see the dozens of Quarian, Asari, Turian, and Salarian working to finish the status quota of weapons and mods needed to be shipped out. I smile as I notice Seila directing the entire floor with absolute precision.

She turned out to be a great forewoman, always considerate of others, always making sure nothing goes wrong or someone slacks off. She's the reason everything has worked out so far and I'm eternally grateful.

"Scorpio." My assistant, Partha, a female Turian from Palaven, hands me a datapad outlining a new shipping list of materials we need from the Migrant Fleet. I double check that they match my own manifest and sign off on it before giving it back to her. "Oh, and someone is here to see you."

"Seems your busy at work, damn you look good in a suit."

I turn towards the door and smile, "Rila, it's so good to see you."

She walks in and we share a comforting hug. "I heard you were moving on finally."

We pull back and I smile as I notice she wasn't wearing her contacts anymore. We promised each other that we'd be ourselves around each other. "That's right. New apartment, new weapons, new armor, new everything. I even finally told Mein to take a hike."

She gasps in shock, "You fired her!"

I laugh, "No no I merely told her to stop talking to me about the... fire."

Rila sighs, "Well, at least you're moving on." Something twinkles in her eyes for a moment and I find myself staring into her beautiful, azure blue eyes. "You're staring again."

"Huh?" I ask in my dazed distraction.

She looks away and shakes her head, "I still don't understand why you do that." I blink and blush as I finally see what I was doing.

I check that Partha was back at her station and whisper, "Well... your eyes are beyond beautiful Rilana."

She blushes, "Damn you and your charm." I laugh happily and she giggles quietly before sighing in wonder, "How did you do it?" She asks while looking out across the production floor.

I decide to play it coy, "Do what?"

She scoffs, "This, all of this. Getting people to actually enjoy and trust Quarian's company to a certain degree."

I cross my arms, talking seriously now, "Now that you mention it I did see a strange decrease in the rate my employees were harassed at the docks during shipment deliveries recently. Maybe it's just a trend. We have the best weapons and armor in the market, for our prices, and without that, maybe the bigotry and racists with start multiplying again."

Rila shrugs, "Maybe, but in the mean time you run a very progressive company, I mean... your secretary is a Turian for Goddess' sake!"

I wave off Partha as she looks up to frown at us momentarily. "Yeah, she surprised me more. The first thing she said to me was that she wanted to apologize for her species past transgressions."

"Scorpio, the Volus Ambassador is on the comm. Would you like for me to patch him in or tell him to fuck off?" Partha asks from across the room.

I nod to her happily before looking to Rila and whispering, "And she's got spunk." I turn to the FTL communicator I had installed, "Go ahead, patch him through." Rilana steps back to observe as the round, yet respectable Ambassador Din Korlack, in all his splendor, drops into my office via the FTL comm buoy network.

"I believe you have the wrong channel Earth-clan. *breathes* You must be wanting to speak to your own species' representative on the Citadel. *breathes* His office is on line seven, eight, one, four, *breathes* Dash eight, one, three." He states begrudgingly.

"Chastising rebuke, Din. Please avoid angering more Humans before their Ambassador comes in here to question us... again."

I fold my hands behind my back and try to hide my smile as I recognize the Elcor Ambassador's voice.

Din spins around to state under his breath, "*breathes* I thought we agreed not to interrupt each other's communications since they stuck us here together."

"Dismissive, I agreed to nothing. Argumentatively, you don't seem to care when you interrupt my calls Din."

"Bah... *breathes* This will be discussed later." Din turns back to me. "*breathes* So Earth-clan. *breathes* Is there something I can do for you?"

I shift my feet slightly and say, "I wish to discuss the trade agreement I sent you."

Din seems confused, "*breathes* I didn't receive-"

"Accusative, I saw you review it before calling the Human Din. Chastising rebuke, only you seem to forget where you put things in this office since the Human's gained an Embassy next door."

Din whips back around to shout, "*breathes* I am in the middle of a call!"

"With laughter, and I'm sending a report to the Council detailing your perceived hostility towards Humans."

"*sigh... breathes* I have reviewed the agreement Earth-clan and I find it lucrative. *breathes* My only problem is that Thessia is a closed market. *breathes* The Matriarchs wouldn't look kindly upon our agreement. *breathes*"

I nod, "This is why I wished to speak to you. I wish to alter the agreement."

"*breathes* Oh?"

"Yes, I believe it to be able to function outside of Asari space." I comment.

Din shifts around for a moment before saying, "What- *breathes* Do you mean Earth-clan? *breathes* I thought your company was restricted to trading on Thessia."

I shake my head, "No, we were simply cautious to move our product outside of Thessia due to our... ethical employment issues."

"*breathes* Yes, I heard about your... ethical dilemma. *breathes* I see it as a good publicity stunt and nothing more. *breathes* Although I can understand the- *breathes* Required- *breathes- WHEEZE*"

"Concerned, Din? Are you alright?"

Din waddles off screen and I hear a clanging and something hissing twice before seeing Din walk back on-screen. "What was that about?" I ask with a bit of curiosity.

"I had to change my breather tank Earth-clan. *breathes* Now, back to business. *breathes* I will bring the revised agreement before my government. *breathes* We will see if it is possible."

I bow, "Excellent Ambassador, I hope the rest of your day goes well."

"*breathes* Goodbye Earth-clan." The communicator shuts down and all three of us burst out laughing.

_OH MY GOD! HAHA! I knew that was going to be fun..._

Partha smirks as she walks over, "That was the highlight of my day Scorpio. Anyways, Nihlus wants to meet you at your apartment asap. He said it was something important."

I frown in worry, "Thanks Partha, I'll be leaving immediately."

Rilana watches me with concern and I smile at her to show all is well before walking out of my office and onto the landing platform the employee skycars were all parked.

"LIA, bring up my skycar and prepare a cup of Thessian brew at the apartment for when I arrive." I say while folding my hands behind my back at the curb.

"Right away Scorpio." The armored skycar, painted completely black with dark red stripes along the side, lands right in front of me.

I step inside and it takes off towards my apartment. "LIA, play Forever Yours by Soris and Deril."

I sit back as the peaceful piano starts off on a low tone, playing up and down the scale for a moment until the drums hit to match along with a flute a second later. Then Soris' beautiful voice starts with, "Water and Ice..." The flute flutters slightly. "Fire and Ash..." The drums get louder. "All... so... permanent..." The Piano grows to match the other two instruments and the chorus hits, "My Heart burns... for you. My Soul yearns... for you. My love flows like a river that refuses to end. My love grows like a flame and I cannot pretend." The Piano hits a hard note as she says, "I'm yours... I'm yours..." The flute sings as she states with resolution, "Forever Yours." All the instruments dull down as it goes to the next part and I find myself smiling at the beauty of the song.

It's surprising but Soris did this one all by herself since Deril died a year ago. She's recovering and finding new love so it's nice. Comforting to hear life move on from tragedy.

I feel a shift in gravity and look up to find us landing in the parking lot of the Taseri Hotel.

_I know it's not smart to live in the same hotel I crashed into and nearly blew up, but for some reason the Blue Suns just up and left Thessia within a month of the incident so it seemed like a good place to start over._

I smile as I walk through the lobby and nod to the Salarian attendant before entering the elevator. "Hold the door!" I press the stop button on the display and a family of Turians, two parents two children, squeeze inside. "Thanks, we just arrived and didn't want to wait for another."

I smile at the father, "No problem man, what floor are you?"

He blinks at me before frowning with a small growl, "What floor are YOU." He responds with slight malice in his voice.

I look from the display and notice the children, one boy one girl, were hiding behind their mother for some reason. I look at the father and say, "I'm on the top, but I can wait if you're in a rush."

The mother in the group nudges her bondmate and whispers something, the father sighs and says, "Fine, we're on the eighth floor Human." I ignore the malice in his voice and step into a corner to politely fold my hand behind my back and wait.

After the third floor passes by slowly I hear the children start to bicker over something and the mother ordering them apart. Next thing I know, there's a meter tall Turian child staring at me.

_Well... ok?_

I ignore her and close my eyes to take a deep breath and run my meditations through my mind.

_In and out, ebb and flow, in with the positive, out with the negati-_

"What are you doing?" A quiet, high-pitched voice asks. I open my eyes to look at the child in surprise before smiling, "I'm meditating internally to better hone my biotics young one." I say friendly.

"Really? What are bio-ticks?" The Turian girl asks.

"Cerria, leave the Human to his own ways." The mother states.

Cerria lowers her head in sorrow. "Sorry mama."

I look over to say, "I don't mind. It's actually welcome for her to learn if she's curious about it." Cerria straightens up and smiles at me before looking at her mother to see if it's alright. The mother exchanges a glance with the father before sighing and waving an hand to indicate it was fine. Cerria hops on her feet slightly as she looks at me, waiting for an explanation.

_I can't believe I'm explaining biotics to a Turian child in an elevator._

I clear my throat as an excuse to check that, yep, we were just getting to floor four. We had time, "Well, where should I start? What do you know about dark energy?"

Cerria blinks for a second before scratching her mandible and saying, "Like the stuff that make our ships move?"

I smile, "Well, kind of. What your talking about is eezo, an element that allows ships to control dark energy and move around safely."

"Oh."

"Now, biotics are people that are born with eezo inside of their spines." I explain.

Cerria cringes, "Does that hurt?"

I shake my head, "No no, but it is a bit dangerous for babies since not all who get biotics can use them properly."

Cerria blinks at me, "Sounds like something I had when I was a baby."

"Cerria, we told you NOT to speak of that!" The Father scolds Cerria, who lowers her head in shame.

I frown and turn towards the father, "You seem to not like biotics sir. It's an honor for one to be able to control such a useful power, its a shame your military disapproves of the wide applications such an individual could have on and off the battlefield." I state diplomatically.

The father growls and jumps into my face, "So the Human thinks he knows best about how I raise MY daughter! I think the HUMAN should stay out of our personal affairs!" I keep my calm and say nothing.

"Supatus!" The mother shouts, "You are being hard-headed! The Human meant no dis-respect!" I nod to her in appreciation as the Supatus steps back to pout in his corner.

I turn back to Cerria to see her sitting on the ground and marveling at a slight blue tinge that covers her hand. I kneel down, "Your a biotic, aren't you." She nods sadly. "It's nothing to be ashamed of Cerria, your special. You can do things a rare few can even imagine."

She sniffles, "Everyone thinks I'm a freak at school."

"You are not a freak Cerria like the Human says, you are special." The mother says kindly.

I take a quick look to see the floor was just past the sixth.

_Damn, this is the first time I'm glad the elevators are slow._

I take in a full breath and sit across from Cerria in my meditative position, channeling my biotics inwards while allowing the universe to help out with my energy problem. I hear a chorus of gasps and I open my eyes to smile at the shocked look in Cerria's violet eyes as she stares at the burning ball of biotic energy I hold in my hands. "This is biotics, its normal, its not a curse, its just like when one person is good at a sport and another is not. It's a skill only YOU can choose to develop or not." Cerria looks down at her slightly light blue talons and I see a smile growing on her face.

*ding*

I quickly stand as the Father pushes them all out and quietly forces his daughter to promise never to use her curse again. I sigh and call down the hall, "If you want to deny your daughter a good life then go ahead buddy, break her self esteem!" I smirk as his head snaps around to glare at me and the Mother starts giggling in the background. I wave as the door shuts and sigh happily.

_Hopefully she decides to ignore her father and develop those skills. From what I can tell she can already control a good portion of her biotics naturally. Only time will tell if they get her an amp or not._

I look up and wave at the hidden camera in the ceiling I found after a month of living here. I tap my wrist to show I was wasting time and the polite security guard overlooking the system speeds up the elevator according to an agreement we made last week. Within no-time I'm at the thirtieth floor and walking down the hall towards the eighth apartment.

_Now that I'm a CEO of a multi-million credit business I can afford to gain a bit of luxury, not much, but some._

Typing in my code, the security door opens and I walk inside to look around the spacious living room with wonder.

_This is the largest place I've ever lived in, a good 1000 square foot apartment. Surprisingly affordable for a five room suite. The Blue Suns know where to find a good apartment I'll give them that much._

Walking through the living room I spot Nihlus passed out on the Turian Chair I bought for his visits. I shake my head and sigh at the look of him curled up like a pup, lightly puring as he enjoys his dreams.

_I remember the first time he came by, he was naked, covered in moss, bleeding badly from his left leg, and wearing a sombrero! He took one step inside and passed out. I treated him for a nasty infection, bought him some new clothes, and sat him in that exact same chair. When he woke up ten hours later I asked him what the hell happened and he refused to talk about it. Saying he'd rather forget before chugging the bottle of refined Turian liquor I bought for Mein as a thank you gift for saving my life and passing out again moaning out some name I barely caught._

*sigh* "Nihlus?" I ask while walking over. I shake him and he bats my hand away. Shaking my head, I walk into the kitchen to grab something to wake him up with. I hold the bottle of Wern fruit flavered Dextro Tupari in my hand and walk over to him. "Nihlus?" He ignores me in his sleep and I sigh before cracking the seal. His eyes fly open and he practically tackles me to get at the sports drink. "Gimme gimme gimme!" He cracks the plastic as he chugs the entire bottle. "Ah... how refreshing." His tongue flick around, grabbing at every last drop.

I get up from my position on the floor and sigh as I see I've ripped my suit. "Damn it Nihlus this was my favorite suit!" I complain.

Nihlus laughs and tosses the bottle over his shoulder. I bioticly grab at it and toss it into the trash before placing my hands on my hips and glaring expectantly at him.

"Uh... sorry, I'll buy you a new one?" He says apologetically. I smile and bioticly punch him in the shoulder to make it hurt.

"Sure, just don't cheap out on me like last time." I sit down in my recliner and he sits down in his comfy chair, rubbing his arm painfully. "So, what did you want to talk about?" I ask casually.

_Nihlus drops by every other week to pass out in HIS chair and tell me something 'important' so this can't be that serious._

His expression solidifies and he leans forward seriously.

_Well, I'll be damned._

"There's a... situation that's developing, or has developed and requires your attention." I lean forward to listen more intently. He stares at me for a second before saying, "I have a friend, whose been captured by some... disreputable people." His brow-plates crease. "I need to get him back."

"Who is he?" I ask curiously.

Nihlus shakes his head, "I can't tell you that, technically I can't legally tell you anything but I'm getting desperate. It's been almost four months."

I sigh, "You know I can't do anything without details Nihlus."

He shakes his head, "I know I know, but all I can say is that it involves the Council and the Eclipse." I blink in confusion.

The Council and- oh, OH. Ok, so the Spectres and the Eclipse, which means a Spectre was captured?

My eyes widen in shock, "A Spectre was captured?!" I shout.

Nihlus winces, "Not so loud! I can get into A LOT of trouble for involving a civilian!"

I think for a second before smiling and shaking my head, "Not a civilian, for all intensive purposes I just became your 'special informant that can't be named'. Now what do we know?"

_I studied law on the side back in my own universe so I can see a loophole when I notice it._

He smiles, "I knew you'd have my back. Anyways, here's the whole story." He folds his hands together in front of him. "Myself and two other Turian Spectres were informed of a possible shipment of WMDs. That stands for-"

"Weapons of mass destruction, I'm familiar with the concept. Go on."

He scoffs, "If you let me finish." I pout as he smirks, "Anyways we got word from a reliable source that a cargo carrier under the control of the Eclipse were shipping WMDs and a lot of them so we were sent to recover or destroy the shipment." I nod in understanding. "Well, when we arrived it all seemed a bit off, the logs reported that a Krogan by the name of Urdnot Kantor was the captain of the vessel."

I frown, "That's odd, what's a Krogan doing on an Eclipse ship?"

Nihlus nods, "That's what we thought. Once we identified that the WMDs were actually experimental mechs." My eyes widen. "We were introduced to the Krogan himself."

"Wait, wait. Tell me more about the mechs." I ask worriedly.

He frowns, "Alus, our tech, told us that they were YMIR mechs as well as another model I don't remember, but they were huge! And tough to kill." His eyes sadden, "Alus didn't make it out alive when ONE YMIR activated and attacked us. I barely survived, and Kantor was somehow able to knock out and capture Saren before blowing the entire ship to hell with a Batarian Hensa-class cruiser as I few away in the last life-pod."

I gulp. "A Hensa-class cruiser?" I ask carefully, worrying that what I remember about them was correct.

Nihlus stares at me before sighing and bringing up a picture from the Extranet. The ship is HUGE compared to the one-man fighters I see in the picture. At least a km in length. "Fuck."

He nods and closes his omni-tool. "That's what I said when I took one look at that thing. I repeatedly hit launch until the button broke on my pod right afterwards to." I take in a deep breath.

_Oh god, aren't mechs supposed to become a major land troop in the Eclipse in the 2180's? How the hell are they developing them so fast! Unless... maybe my presence here is changing the timeline already. No! No I barely have done anything, but maybe I'll look into it and see what I've done so far just to be safe. Wait..._

"Nihlus? Why do I have to be involved?" I ask curiously.

He looks at me and says, "Because I intercepted communications talking about a high priority asset being held by the Eclipse on Thessia. I don't have many contacts here, and the Council don't want any more Spectres on the case until I have solid evidence."

I scoff, "The Council and their fucking evidence."

Nihlus nods in agreement before looking at me with pleading eyes, "Please, I need you to help me find Saren before it's too late. I don't think I'll survive in a hearing if it looks like I did nothing to save him!"

He stares at me and I contemplate stepping away or leaving the planet to stop the timeline from altering any more, but... "I'll do it, I'll use my reputation with the lower class here on Thessia and try to dig up something useful."

Nihlus sighs in relief. "Good, good. I need to track down some leads of my own as well. Meet back here in two days?"

I nod resolutely, "Two days." He stands and quickly grabs two more Tupari to go before leaving.

_*sigh* Now I have to help find Saren Arterius. Great. Just fucking great._

I run a hand over my face and walk into my bedroom to get into my armor. "I seriously had hoped I'd never have to use this until Shepard steps onto the Normandy for the first time." I mutter while typing in a code on an invisible key pad in my mirror. The wall clicks and pops outwards before sliding away to show a hidden compartment I found one quiet morning while dressing myself. A smile grows across my face as I see the completely black and unlabeled commando armor Mein had fabricated as a prototype for my own personal use since she DID incinerate my last set. I tap the release and reach inside its case to feel the soft nano-tubular fibers that make up most of the outer layer. A strange anxiety washes over me as I run my hand over the thin material.

_I haven't had to purposely fight anyone since the fire, and I had hoped it to stay that way, but unfortunately the universe LOVES throwing me curve-balls._

I lock my jaw and take a deep breath before taking it out and slipping it on.

_Mein said it was specifically built to attract dark energy, somehow. I can't understand her when she techno-babbles._

The suit slips on easily and I let LIA jump into the suit for a bit to customize it to my specifications.

_I seriously hope I don't die inside this thing, that would put a huge hole in my plans to join Shepard in a few years._

"Diagnostics complete, Scorpio I regret to inform you that this suit is unstandardized and as such I was unable to successfully access it's core functions."

I smile, "That's alright LIA, Mein built the damn thing so I doubt it's programed in anything but Quarian script. Seal it up so we can take a test run."

"At once Scorpio." LIA states with her usual chipper synthesized voice.

_I still think it's not personal enough, but Seila's stuck at work for a while so I'll live with it._

I hear a clicking sound and look down to gasp in shock as the collar breaks apart to slide over my head and form a perfect helmet. I stare in shock at the HUD for three seconds before grinning and jumping around like an idiot.

_Oh HELL yes! Mein you crazy bitch, I love you right now!_

I laugh joyfully and knock the outside of my helmet happily, "I am loving this already." I look at my surroundings and find... everything looks really clear for some reason. In fact the HUD is so clear that it doesn't even look like I have the helmet on! I have fully unobstructed vision! "Ok, I am going to kiss her when I see her next, this is just awesome!" I grip my hands into fists to get the feel for the stretchable fabric and stretch my limbs the farthest they can go in all directions to find I have full mobility as well. "Damn. This thing is nice." I close the wall up and gasp as I see myself in the mirror. The entire suit was covered in patches of slightly darker black malleable plates that make up the bulk of the light armor. My expressionless helmet shines ever-so-slightly in the bright light, meaning it's shaded to absorb some light. "God Mein, now I'm going to have to apologize for sending you that damn letter. Haha." I see a small bar of red light up over the mouth of my helmet as I talk and smile.

_Just like a Quarian's._

I do a 360 and smile that the other light son the armor were limited to the five bars that my weapons lock onto and thats about it. Something catches my eye and I look to the bottom of my vision to see an integrity meter in red thats engulfed in a blue bar that I assume is my shields. I punch myself in the helmet and my shields flare a bright blue.

_Yep shields._

Looking back down, my eyes widen as I see the Shields are at 95%

_Wow, compared to my other armor these shields are freaking amazing! Hmm..._

I get curious and punch my helmet twenty times to break my shields. I jump at the sound of breaking glass hitting my ears and a rapid beeping that stops as they start to recharge. Ten seconds later they're done charging.

_Huh, strong shields, but they take forever to recharge._

I shrug.

_That's Pre ME1 for ya._

After a good half hour of messing around with my suit, I hear my doorbell and walk out to the living room to answer the door. Entering the code, the door opens to Rilana. She takes one look at me and gasps in shock. "What's wrong?" I ask worriedly.

She blinks and asks, "Scorpio?" I nod and she relaxes, "Damn it, you scared me inside that suit. Where did you get it?"

I step aside to let her in, "Mein made it for me months ago, but I never found it useful until now." The door closes behind us and she walks over to sit on the couch, "Well it looks incomplete, where's your hood?"

I sit down next to her, "My hood?"

She nods, "You'll look better with one, it'll complete the look."

I shake my head, "Alright I'll see if I can get Mein to make one. Now why did you come by?" I ask curiously.

She stares uncomfortably at me, "Can you take off your helmet? It's getting really creepy."

I shrug and tap a release on the back of my neck. It folds over to reveal my stoic expression and Rilana's shocked one. "What?"

She shakes her head and blinks, "What was that?"

I smile brightly, "My helmet, it's new."

"Wow. I've never seen anything like that before." She comments while relaxing into the sofa.

I sit back as well, "Yeah, I'll have to ask Mein how she did it. I have an idea that she stole it from someone.

_Or somewhere. I'm seriously wondering how this 'folding helmet' tech got into the Mass Effect Universe._

"Anyways, I was getting worried when you didn't come back to work. Nihlus' visits normally don't take three hours." She smirks at my shocked expression.

"Damn. I lost track of time. Sorry, is everything good down at the warehouse?" I ask, trying to get what Nihlus said out of my head.

Rilana instantly picks up on it, "Seila's keeping it running. What's wrong?" She asks worriedly. I sigh.

_Damn she notices everything doesn't she._

"Nihlus had some... troubling news. I need you to round up the most connected people down at the warehouse and bring them back here."

She stares at me for a moment before asking, "Why?"

"*sigh* I need to have a meeting, things on Thessia are going to get really rocky in a couple of weeks and I want us to be ready."

_I hope it doesn't happen, but I hoped I wouldn't have to put on this damn suit any time soon so what I want to do doesn't matter any more. I think I'm going to have to accelerate Mein's work on those T-7 gunships after-all._

Rilana looks at me with concern and I pat her on the thigh reassuringly, "We'll be fine Rilana, I'll make sure of it.

"Ok, I'll meet you back here with... everyone highly connected in an hour or so." She stands and walks to the door. I close my eyes as I hear her go and try to remember what I know about YMIR and LOKI mechs from Mass Effect 2 as I start building the proper presentation.

* * *

"Mmmmm!" Saren struggles to hold his mouth shut as he screams out at the searing hot metal prod piercing the soft flesh between his neck plates.

"The pain can stop at any time Saren, all you need to do is give us what we want." A soft, almost alluring voice states from within the darkness that surrounds Saren.

"Oh... you're wasting your time!" Saren pants out, he had survived worse before.

"Yah!" Another jolt of 10,000 volts shocks him from behind. He shuts his eyes to block out the pain and someone yanks his mandible to the side. "Ah!"

"Tell us what we want to hear Saren." The voice asks nicely. Another jolt hits him. "Please, for your own sake." Saren growls at her in response. "Well, suit yourself." His captors slam something into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. A door screeches open and his unknown torturers walk out before the door slams shut and the one light over him goes out, leaving him in complete darkness and silence.

"Oh..." Saren lowers his head as he hangs by his talons, swinging back and forth in the extremely cold air. Turians hate the cold and Saren was no exception. He silently shivers in the open air, after the third day they took away his clothes and refused to bathe him.

_Hmph, little do they know that Turians can go months without bathing._

Saren breaths in and cringes.

_Why do I smell worse than a sweaty Krogan's quad then? I've only been tortured for five days!_

He sighs, it was demeaning, painful, and boring swinging here naked in the dark day in and day out. But he'd had worse. It'd hurt his pride if he broke this soon anyways. A scurrying hits his overly sensitive ears and he whips his head to the right, "Who's there?" He asks on impulse. Nothing answers him.

_Hmm... must have been a vermin, perhaps a Skalik._

He freezes as he hears scurrying to his left. He spins his body towards that direction and again, sees nothing in the darkness. He growls in aggravation, "Psychological torture doesn't work on me!" Saren shouts into the darkness. He freezes and looks down as he hears his voice echo really, really, really far down below him, he averaged a two hundred foot drop.

_Hmm... too far to risk it._

A growling alerts him from to the right again and he swings around to see two large, burning eyes staring at him through the darkness. He hears the creature snarling wildly.

_That's no Skalik..._

He swallows nervously for a moment before shaking his head and steeling his resolve, if he was going to die, he was going to die a Turian. He growls at the creature dangerously. The creature growls back. Saren growls louder. The creature stomps his paws and roars at him, in return Saren starts howling and roaring back madly. He shakes his head left and right and stops as he remembers he isn't a wild animal. He looks up and blinks as he sees the creature had left. He smirks, he won the first round.

_If it comes back, I'll scratch it with my hind claws..._

…

Saren internally face-palms as he realizes his feet weren't bound this time. His captors forgot to. He takes a deep breath and swings his legs front and back, swinging him back and forth faster and faster. One more swing and Saren brings his hind legs up to lock around the thick robe binding him. He waits for it to swing back, then on the return he cuts his restraints and spins once to land on his feet triumphantly.

_Yes._

Before his weakened legs fail him and he falls on his ass. "Oaf!"

_It's definitely been more than five days..._

He rolls over and carefully sits up against the metal door to his cell. He brings up his dead synthetic arm and counts the time it's charge has been down.

_1448 hours..._

He tracks how long his charge normally lasts in his head and he averages it's been about four months since the incident on the cargo carrier. He closes his eyes and sighs deeply. They sedated him for almost four entire months for some reason. He opens his eyes half-lid and raises his right arm up to his mouth. He takes a deep breath before biting into his hide and ripping a chunk of his flesh out with a loud groan. He reluctantly swallows the skin, gracious to have SOMETHING in his belly. He takes another deep breath before licking around the wound site to find what he was looking for, implanted between his forearm bones for safe-keeping. Saren bites down on the metal cylinder and growls on the verge of passing out as he yanks it out of his arm. He sighs and spits out the small energy cell into his palm. He prays to the Spirits that it still has charge after all these years and plugs it into the emergency slot of his synthetic arm. The arm twitches as it starts up and he sighs in relief. He had power.

He chuckles at how fortunate him losing his arm has come in the years afterwards. Clenching the robotic limb, he activates the hidden omni-tool built into it's housing. "AH!" He turns away from the severely bright light his omni-tool projects and winces as he forces himself to look at it to activate an expired medi-gel packet and sealing his right arm up. A growl escapes his throat as he forgot when medi-gel expired it starts burning like hell when applied.

_Get over it!_

He shakes his head and slowly stands on his wobbly feet to search for a crease in the metal door. He feels around with both his arms before taking a deep breath and punching his robotic arm into the weak edge of the door the metal creaks and bends enough for him to get a hold of it and pry the door back. He crawls under the curled door and stands in a very bright, sterile-white hallway. He quickly looks left and right to see no-one in the entire hall.

_Hmm... seems they've underestimated me twice today._

Saren casually walks down to the end of the hall and uses the shine off his metal claws to see a security camera staring back at him around the corner.

_Or not._

Walking back to his cell, Saren looks around for anything he can fit into and growls in agitation before looking directly up and seeing a nicely sized vent staring back at him. He smirks and reaches up to move the vent casing aside and climb in.

_This is surprisingly roomy._

He looks around the damp dark space and decides to move one direction and stick to it.

* * *

Ten minutes go by and he's still not getting anywhere. He groans as he catches his foul stench again. "I need to get out of here and jump into the nearest lake soon or I might knock myself out."

"Hey, did you hear that?" Saren freezes and looks down and through a crack in the vent to see two Asari in Eclipse armor patrolling the hallways.

"Hear what?" The Asari with a shotgun responds to the one with a rifle's question.

"I heard something moving in the ducts." She looks up worriedly and Saren swallows nervously.

"Your hearing things because you played that damn horror game all through the night!"

The first Asari glares at the second, "Hey, _Dark Spaces_ is a great horror game!" Saren rolls his eyes.

The second scoffs, "I don't see why you play it."

The first sighs, "Because it's about a guy that's stuck fending for his life against mutated flesh monsters that crawl through the ducts to attack anything that's alive! It's awesome!"

They start walking farther down the hall. "You know what else is awesome?" The second Asari asks.

"What?"

_"Fire Age: Beginnings"_

"Oh would you shut up about that! Its like eight years old!"

"Its still fun! I like how you can have relationships with the other-" Saren sighs as their conversation is cut off from them rounding another corner.

_I've played both of those games and they both suck. I enjoy _Cry of War_ games more then that RPG-_

Saren shakes his head clear, he can play video games when he gets out of here. Resolutely Saren crawls on, hoping that Nihlus was still alive and looking for him. As much as Saren hates to admit it, he needs help, and a lot of it.

* * *

"Welcome everyone." I say from my position next to the holo screen I set up against a bare wall. I look over the crowd and count barely eight people.

_*sigh...* I hope this works. If it doesn't, and Saren dies, then we don't stand a chance against Sovereign or the Reapers. I still can't believe I have to help rescue Saren Arterius._

I nod to Rilana as she leans against the back wall. "Now, before I start I'd like to ask all of you that anything said inside this apartment stays inside this apartment." Surprisingly, I watch as everyone nods in agreement.

"You gave us another chance by giving us a job, we owe you everything." I look to my left and see an Asari smiling back at me.

"I'm sorry, but none of you owe anything to me." I respond truthfully.

_I own a successful company and reap the benefits of that. So far its enough to prepare for the coming invasion._

The only Turian in the room, Raxus I think his name was, shakes his head, "I owe you my life and for that I'm eternally grateful." Everyone either nods or makes a gesture of gratitude as I look at each of them in surprise, and sadness.

"Well then. Now that we are in agreement." I take in a deep breath and stand up straight before starting, "A fragile situation is unfolding and the Eclipse right here on Thessia are at the epicenter." I swallow down my nervousness as I see everyone giving me their full attention, "Apparently they have somehow managed to capture well-known Turian Spectre Saren Arterius and are most likely torturing him for information." Everyone stares at me in shock.

"Why would they do something as insane as capture a Council Spectre?" One Asari asks.

Raxus shakes his head, "How is it even possible? Saren is the Council's top agent!"

I bite my tongue and continue, "It doesn't matter how as much as why. I believe that according to certain reports I've managed to uncover that the Eclipse are planning to sell Saren into slavery. A well-known ex-slaver is already en-route to Thessia as we speak."

_I had to do an extranet search using Rilana's access codes to get that information. I'll have to apologize to her later._

Raxus calls out, "He's worth Billions on the slaver markets! Any Spectre is. Especially now that the Batarian's are effectively a Rouge State."

Five Quarians sitting together on my couch nod in agreement before whispering amongst themselves. A second later Seila stands up to say, "We have also heard of a 'High Priority Asset' under heavy guard by 'New Projects'. Whatever they are."

I sigh, "The 'New Projects' are mechs. Experimental security mechs." I notice the discontent growing as the unease sets in. "This is why I'm interested in this problem. If the Eclipse manage to mass produce these mechs with the funds they gain from selling the Spectre to the Batarians, then the total security of not only Thessia, but all of Citadel Space could collapse! The Eclipse would dominate the entire security market, creating a domino effect that eventually could wipe out the Blue Suns and the Blood Pack!"

Raxus scoffs as he folds his arms, "Why do we care if the Blue Suns and Blood Pack get wiped out?"

I turn to him and push the issue, "What do you think will happen when the Eclipse control EVERY smuggling operation? EVERY illegal market? EVERY private security system? They will tear the Council apart. It'll be an all out war with the Terminus systems!"

Raxus' eyes widen with his mandibles in shock. "That's suicide! Their entire combined forces would overwhelm us!"

I reply strongly while pointing at him, "Exactly, that's why we stop this before it starts!"

"I could probably recreate the mechs if I got my hands on a blueprint." I blink and look around the room in confusion before spotting Mein sitting with the Quarians.

_That sneaky little-_

"Are you sure?" I ask.

Mein shrugs, "Maybe, unless I see a blueprint of them I'll be- oh what is that Human saying? Without a carrot or a stick to drive the mule?" I shrug.

_It's actually good she showed up, I can ask her about my hood._

"How did you get involved in this?" I look across the room and see Rilana staring at me. The other eight agree.

I sigh, "I was personally contacted by a Spectre recruit that the Council sent to locate and possibly rescue Saren. That's our top priority, find Saren, and if we can, destroy any and all trace of the mechs out of the Eclipse's systems."

"Don't forget my blueprint, I could mass produce those mechs if I got a blueprint. That way everyone had them at once instead of only a large organization." Mein comments. I internally cringe.

_I'm not letting that happen. Not yet anyway, we still have a few years to go before mechs become favorable as basic security._

"Before we go any further..." The one Salarian, Deran speaks up, "I think we need an overview of these mech's capabilities."

I nod reluctantly and bring up a rough specification outline of the YMIR mech I got Nihlus to provide. Everything from speed and height, to weapons armaments and possible weak points.

"Interesting..." Deran blinks rapidly at the screen in apparent surprise.

"Keelah! Look at that monstrosity! It makes a Geth Armature look like an armored Varren!" Mein shouts in what I assume to be elated shock.

"How are they packaged?" Raxus asks.

I mentally pack them up in my head, "Well... really tight. I mean their mechs, but Ni- the Spectre recruit said the YMIR mechs were one per crate. The other mech known is the LOKI." I flip to the LOKI specifications I myself had to draw up.

"Not much is known I take it?" Tel asks from beside Seila on the couch.

I slump my shoulders slightly, "No, not really. Other than they move slowly and are armed with SMG's no not much at all."

"An SMG? What's an SMG?" Raxus asks.

Rila speaks up to answer, "Sub-Machine Gun. You would know them as repeater turrets, only this is the size of a gun and not a skycar."

Raxus gulps, "Spirits... they'll tear through our shields without mercy."

I nod in agreement and turn to Mein, "Mein, we need you to push out some upgraded shield capacitors to the production floor so if it comes to war, we are properly prepared." Her silent smirk is her answer.

_How I know she's smirking is beyond me, but she is._

I take a deep breath, "I need to know what all of you can do to help avert a crisis."

Raxus looks left and right at everyone before raising a talon, "I have a cousin working at the transport hub, I can give him a call and see if he can delay that slaver or just tell us when they arrive so we can plan ahead."

Seila is next to speak, "We-" She waves to the Quarians minus Mein. "-can ask around descreetly on the streets and try to find out where the Eclipse bases are at the very least."

Mein states proudly, "I'll work with my team and finish up some last minute projects I've been working on." I grind my teeth nervously from the excitement in her voice.

Deran and the Asari decide to go with Mein as well before Rila steps forward, "What about the APC? What do you want me to tell them?"

I frown, "Nothing, I don't want the APC involved in any of this."

"But we could help locate the Eclipse bases!" She argues.

I cross my arms, "I'm sorry, but it's too much of a security risk. If the Eclipse find out that we're looking for Saren, they might move him, execute him, or hasten their plans. We need the element of surprise here."

_Please, please be reasonable._

"Yeah, no offense to you Rila, but the APC are a bunch of corrupt Bosh'tets!" Tel yells angrily. The rest of the Quarians nod in agreement.

Rila gawks at them, "We aren't corrupt!" She shouts back in shock.

Tel scoffs, "You remember that incident at the community center a few months back? That happened twice a week! We called the APC every single time and no-one came!" Tel stands and points an accusing finger at her, I step between them. "And when you DO show up, you're so incompetent that you drop within the first minute!"

Rila shakes her head, "I wasn't prepared for those Batarians! Dispatch reported it was a domestic dispute!" She tries to explain herself but I Tel isn't listening.

I have to physically hold him back from jumping on Rila as he shouts, "A DOMESTIC DISPUTE?! I'LL SHOW YOU A DOMESTIC DISPUTE!"

"TEL CALM THE HELL DOWN!" Seila shouts in his ear. Tel instantly pushes me off of him and walks away, Seila hot on his heels.

I turn back to Rila in surprise at Tel's outburst and she jumps into my arms to sob on my shoulder miserably. "He's just angry Rila, he didn't mean any of it." I rub her back comfortingly as she continues to sob from being blamed for a traumatic part of both of our lives. "It wasn't your fault." I feel her shake her head and I start to feel tears come to my eyes. "Its mine..." I whisper.

She pulls back and wipes her tears onto her sleeve, "Wha-What? You?"

I look away in shame, "I wasn't quick enough and you and Seila suffered because of that."

She cups my chin and forces me to look at her, "No, no it's my fault. I should have been more attentive."

"It's none of your's faults." We look behind us at the group and see Mein sitting alone on the couch. "I started the verbal match that eventually lead to the shoot-out and knife fight. I am to blame for all of it." She lowers her head in a surprising show of compassion.

"Why?" Rila asks beside me.

As fast as the show of compassion appeared, it vanished. "Oh, I don't know, I just felt like I needed to thrust my blade into something soft and squishy." Everyone cringes. "What? It was just a feeling. Like this one time I was on Omega with two of my fellow Quarians on Pilgrimage. We had a good haul of scrap we sold off as a stabilizer to some pirates that day." We all blink at her in surprise. "Anyways, we all decided to go to Afterlife for the night off. The loud exotic music, wild people, strip dances from Asari dancers, all the perks of Afterlife." By this time everyone is sitting down for story time and I'm still wondering how the hell she even started this conversation. "I decided after an hour of fun and games that I wanted a drink. So I sat down at the closest bar, next to a Turian in Blue Suns armor. He looked over at me and said, 'Hey, you want to-?'" Mein makes a strange noise and thrusts her boot knife into the air three times. "I shivved him in the gut while picking his pockets as he fell off his stool and passed out from the shock."

"Damn..." I comment.

Mein glares at me and I shut up, "When I got my drink I turned around and rested my feet on his body, no-one could see if he was dead yet because of the low-lit lights so I just sat there and sipped my Turian brandy for a while, watching the hot ass shake itself on stage. I was almost content when the main doors opened and three Krogan in Blood Pack armor stomped in." She stops and points her knife at me. "That's when I knew I had to kill them." I gulp.

"How did you know?" Rila asks curiously.

Mein smirks and twirls her knife in her hand, "Sometimes you just feel it." She stabs her knife into my wooden coffee table and I groan in agitation.

_Damn it Mein! I just had that imported from Earth two days ago!_

"Scorpio knows what I'm talking about, he's murdered people for less." I look up and stare wide-eyed at everyone's shocked expressions. I wave at them nervously. Mein laughs, "I'm joking! Or am I? Anyways, I just sat there, caressing my filtered Turian brandy and twirling my knife around casually, just watching my prey throw two Batarians out of their booth and order two Asari dancers to their table. That's when I made my move." Everyone leans in so they don't miss one bit of the story.

"What did you do? Stab them?" Raxus asks excitedly.

Mein frowns, "No, I ordered another drink!" Raxus' shoulders slump. "Well actually three. Three glasses of Ryncol." I smile as I see the next part coming. "But I slipped something extra in each of them, my secret recipe. At that exact second, the three Krogan demanded to be brought three glasses of Ryncol so I stood up, walked over and placed the drinks on their table, then walked back to my seat to get myself a second drink and watch the show." Mein folds her hands in her lap. "I put Hallex in their drinks, what most people don't know about Hallex is that in the right dosage you can make someone's nerves tingle to the point of absolute ecstasy. Well, that's for most species anyways, when given to Krogan they simply lose their shit and go into Blood-Rage." Everyone's eyes widen. Mein turns to me to say, "I think the Human phrase is, 'tripping balls'?" I laugh under my breath. "Anyways, by the time I finished my second Turian brandy the biggest of the three started twitching uncontrollably, which pissed off the other two to the point that after ten minutes of his pro-longed seizure they shoved a claymore shotgun into his mouth and pulled the trigger." Mein's arms fly up above her head. "A HUGE blast of gore showered down on the entire club! Most got pissed and started blaming their neighbor, one thing led to another and the entire club turned into an all-out firefight!" Mein jumps to her feet. "Bullets flying overhead, people screaming for their lives, body parts flying everywhere!" She sits down with a bottle of sterilized water I don't remember her having and crosses her legs on my coffee table. "And me, sitting back, sipping my brandy, while the entire club tore itself apart right in front of me, all for my amusement." She takes a sip of her water as the rest of us gawk at her in a mixture of awe and disgust.

"Wait... what happened to the other two Krogan?" I ask curiously.

Mein places her water down beside her on the couch and says, "They ended up choking to death on their own vomit because I gave them an overdose by mistake. It was still funny to watch though."

"How did you and your friends get out of there?" Raxus asks Incredulously.

Mein smiles behind her black mask, "WE didn't, I did, I might have forgotten to mention that pretty much everyone died except for me. Oh, and Aria, she and her guards retreated back to her private rooms when the fighting started." She laughs wickedly, "Oh, that was a fun weekend!" We all shake our heads, unsure whether to laugh, cry, or puke.

_Maybe all three._

* * *

A/N WHOO! OH YEAH! Sorry had to do it. This chapter made me smile...

Before I go I have some things to explain...

Dark Spaces = Dead Space

Fire Age: Beginnings = Dragon Age: Origins

Cry of War = Call of Duty

Skalik: A terrestrial pest found in the lower slums of Turian colonies. Usually in dark, cold, and damp places, they mostly prey upon young Turians and small animals, using their long razor sharp teeth to grab onto their victim and throw them around until they stop moving and they can swallow them whole. A nightmarish creature that eludes Turian Colonial Pest Control efforts to eradicate them to this day.

Lastly, if any of you are wondering what the hell happened to Nihlus after he was knocked out in his life pod your in luck! :D I'm currently writing a short story about his misadventures and struggle to get back to Thessia! I'll keep you all updated on it's completion! :)


	16. Crying Wolf When the Sheep are Dead

A/N Feel free to scream out in agonizing annoyance at this late posting, I know I have.

Short version; shit happens.

Long version; my computer crashed when I tried to post ch. 16 almost two weeks ago and I had to send it in to get fixed because it SOMEHOW caught a virus. AND when I got it back and plugged it into my modem, IT CRASHED AGAIN! This was on the third of July. I called my Internet provider and they said they could get a guy out on the eighth. After a very heated 'discussion' with my service provider (and a few lawsuit threats) I was able to get a guy out to fix it that very same day. I stood by for about six minutes before he walks up to me and says, "Someone hacked you modem." O_o Someone was siphoning MY Internet minutes FOR FREE! They replaced the modem for free as per our contract. (I had to wave it in the guy's face before he finally did what his company promised me they were going to do in this type of emergencies.) And my computer guy also fixed the NEW string of viruses that had invaded my computer for free as well, but I just got my computer back Monday morning because of the holiday SO... I've been typing my thin pale gamer fingers to the bone over the last 24 hours (Didn't sleep) creating 3 full new chapters for you all! :D ENJOY! Now I'm going to get some flippin' sleep!

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

* * *

"Have a good afternoon everyone!" I wave at the departing group as they finally exit my apartment after three hours of Mein answering their questions about her adventures.

I'm glad I wasn't with her on Tuchanka. Who knew it WAS possible for a single Quarian to kill six Krogan in close combat over a Varren pit bet.

"I've got to go as well." I look to my left and watch Rilana tiredly stand from her seat on the counter. She smiles as she walks by and I hold out my arm to stop her.

"Where do you think your going?" She looks at me with wide eyes. "I've got some important things to discuss with you." She straightens up and watches me intently. I look at her apologetically, "I need your mother's communications number."

Her shoulders drop, "What? Seriously? Why?"

I sigh tiredly and place a hand on her shoulder, "I need to speak with the Council, or at least someone connected to them. Someone needs to convince them that Thessia is in danger."

She reluctantly brushes my hand away and stares angrily at me, "I am not going to have you bothering my mother during work!"

I step closer, "I need to speak to her, please Rilana. If I can convince her that Thessia is in danger I could solve a lot of problems."

Rila's jaw locks up and she looks at me worriedly, "It's that bad? You said we could handle it."

I shake my head, "I just told them that to keep moral up, if what I think is happening happens... lets just say a lot of people could die."

_Trillions and trillions of sentient beings are hanging in the balance, they're always hanging in the balance._

She grinds her teeth, "I... don't want to-"

"I won't bother her for long. Maybe ten, twenty minutes!" I say desperately.

Rila hugs me, "-lose you! I'm sorry, but you are everything to me..." She takes a breath before separating and quickly stating, "You are everything to everyone at the company. They would all be lost without you." She wrings her hands nervously.

I nod in understanding, "Unfortunately I matter less than the galaxy. I'm expendable in the end."

_Even if I die tomorrow, as long as the Timeline remains unaltered Shepard will win._

She grabs my shoulders, "Don't say that! People care about you! People depend on you! You are not expendable!"

I smile at her sadly, "Yes, people depend on me staying alive, for now. Your right. Thanks, I almost dropped back into depression."

Rila sighs deeply and her azure blue eyes burn into my dark brown, "Kiss me..." I blink as I hear her whisper it.

"Wha-what?" I ask in confusion.

She bites her lower lip and looks at me uncomfortably, "Kiss me and I'll give you my mother's contact information." I stare at her in shock. She watches me worriedly and I look off into the distance, trying to process her reasoning.

_Is she serious? Does she think it'll help us in some way? Is she simply struggling with her libido lately? What, what could it be?_

I close my mouth and adopt an expression of seriousness, "Why do you want me to kiss you?"

She swallows and says, "I don't know." I can see right through her lie though.

"Ri, what's going on?" I ask quietly. She fidgets and ignores me. "Rilana, what is wrong?" I grab her gently by the shoulders, forcing her to look into my eyes. I frown softly at the severe conflict I see there, she was struggling with something and needed time to think it over. "Alright." I say compassionately.

She blinks at me in shock, "You- You will?"

I nod resolutely, "If that is what it takes to gain a chance to save-" I shut my eyes and sigh at myself.

_Why do I love lengthy speeches?_

"Yeah, yeah. I'll kiss you. Um..." I raise an eyebrow, "I hope you can tell me where you want me to kiss you?" She blushes and looks away. "Please tell me it's above the waist?" I ask jokingly.

She swallows nervously and turns back to say, "On the lips is just fine."

"Hard, demanding, passionate, soft, I need to know preferences Rila." She gulps.

"Um... whatever you feel like I guess." She barely says above a whisper. I take a deep breath.

_This is probably going to be the weirdest kiss in the history of our friendship._

I smile at her and raise my right hand to cup her cheek. She smiles back and grabs my waist softly. We look into each-other's eyes and lead forwards, locking lips. I taste a hint of coffee on her lips as we kiss softly, her hands slowly shifting to wrap around my torso, my own holding her close. I find myself enjoying it, and after a moment she pushes forwards to deepen the kiss. I allow it.

_For the good of the many._

The kiss heats up and I find my heart beating faster and faster. She wraps her arms around my neck and slips her tongue past my lips.

_Thessian brew 12, South Republics, black. She drank my coffee..._

I feel my own tongue slip into her mouth and they dance together wonderfully.

_I wondered where my cup went._

"Mmm..." She pushes back and I feel myself pressing against her. My breathing rapidly increasing.

_No... too close..._

I push away, ending the kiss. She stares at me in a haze of the emotions our passionate kiss brought up. I pant in shock and confusion as we stare at each other, becoming increasingly aware to how our bodies responded to the... kiss. "Goddess..." She breathes. I'm speechless, absolutely unable to grasp at my erratic thoughts. She rests her head tiredly against my shoulder and I'm powerless to argue. After a moment or two our hearts haven't quit beating. "You are a really good kisser." She comments. I swallow uncomfortably, but with a strange feeling of content I can't place.

"Yeah." I respond blankly. She giggles and I feel myself smile as I taste my coffee in my mouth. "Ri?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you drink my coffee?"

She pulls away and blushes at being caught. "No, no I didn't." She lies.

I smile and shake my head, "I know you did, I could taste it on your tongue." Her blush deepens.

We stand there for two more minutes quietly before I sigh, "Well, I need to call up your mother soon so..."

She looks at me in surprise, "Oh! R-Right, yeah." She brings up her omni-tool and sends over the comm channel. "She and I usually speak around 2200 hours every night, it's when she gets off of work." I nod, my heart still beating rapidly for some reason I can't explain. "Ok, then I guess I'll see you later?" I quickly smile and nod, not trusting my voice any more.

_What is wrong with me?_

I walk her out and only after the door closes do I breath again. "Oh... what the hell was all that about?" I ask myself while falling into my couch tiredly.

_I'm afraid to think about it, I can't get close to anyone. It's too dangerous with 'D' out there. Come to think of it... I haven't gotten a message from 'D' since the fire. Weird._

I shrug and look at my coffee table to sigh as I see Mein's knife still impaled into the REAL hard wood I paid twenty thousand to import.

_Now we're even again bitch._

I sit up and grasp the hilt of the short knife. I try to yank on it to get it out and it doesn't budge. "You have to be gentle Dylan, pull it out slowly." I whip my head to the right and see Mein standing there.

"How the-?"

"Just do it already!" I cringe and look back to the knife before grasping it again and slowly pulling on it, surprisingly it easily comes out of the thick cherry-wood. I examine the blade and see that when you grasp it tightly thousands of small serrated teeth jump out of a thin groove along the blade to grab onto anything it's stabbed into. "Impressive isn't it." I look over and toss the blade at her. She catches it easily and sheathes it in her boot before relaxing on the couch next to me. "I won that off of a mercenary in Chora's Den on the Citadel."

I frown at her, "What are you doing here Mein?" I ask with slight agitation.

She shrugs, "Nothing, just, waiting."

"Waiting huh?"

"Yep, I wanted to see how you two did, points for the tongue I might add, a nice and surprising touch." I watch her carefully as she smiles at me from behind her mask.

"You saw us then?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

She lazily waves her hand, "Yeah, but it's nothing important. I'm more interested in whether you two were going to throw caution to the wind and hump already."

I wince at her wording, "Rilan- Rila and I are just friends."

"Friends that enjoy sucking each other's faces?" I growl at her, she just smirks. "Oh I'm sorry, I miss-spoke. I meant to say, Embrace each other's Eternity." I face-palm and she shakes her head, "Sorry that one was pretty bad, what I meant to say-"

"I get what you wanted to say!" I shout at her.

She sits up and faces me fully. "I know how you see things right now, but don't throw away your happiness because you have obligations and those obligations might harm Rila."

I shake my head painfully, "I can't... I can't relive another execution Mein. I don't think I can take seeing another person I'm close to die because of me."

Mein laughs and I glare at her. "What? It's funny! Your worrying about hurting her and she's worried she'll end up hurting you! It's classic!"

"I care about her, I just don't think it'll work." I respond sadly.

Mein crosses her arms, "Really?" I glare at her. "What? It's just a question. It's not like I asked you how big your cock is." I stare at her uneasily. "Which I already know from Neril so it'd be a waste of time."

I lower my head in defeat, "What would you have me do?" I ask tiredly.

Mein snaps her fingers in my face to get me to look up before grabbing me by the armor, and getting in my face, "Fuck her." I push her away angrily and she laughs, "You should see the look on your face! Haha! Totally worth it! No but seriously, you two should just fuck. It solves a lot of relationship issues with non-Quarians."

I frown, "Why non-Quarians?" She stares at me before pointing at her mask, "Oh... sorry."

She shakes her head, "Don't care, just send me a video of it when it happens, it'll save me the trouble of breaking in to videotape it myself like last time." My eyes widen in shock. "Good pace by the way, really hit that sweet spot with Neril in every stroke. I never knew you were so strong." I blush and stare at her uncomfortably as she laughs at my expense.

"Uh... right. Anyways..." I take a big, deep, calming breath and let it out slowly, "Could you make me a hood to match my suit? Rila says I'd look good in a hood." Mein stares at me. "You know, maybe a black one what locks onto my chest like it does on Quarians?" She crosses her arms. "Mein?"

"I'm not going to make you a hood out of charity." She says darkly.

I hold up my hands, "No, no I'm going to pay. Also where did you put my new guns? I didn't see them in the... mirror."

Mein stands up and waves for me to follow her, "I hid them since it was easy to crack into your 'mirror' once you knew it was there." I follow her into the bedroom and she opens up her omni-tool to type up something. "That's why I made another compartment." Suddenly the floor lifts up, my new weapons sitting there on individual racks.

I gawk at them for a moment before looking at Mein in shock and asking increduliously, "How did you install this without my knowledge?"

"I came in while you were sleeping." She states plainly while grabbing the weapons and laying them on my bed.

"You came in here while I was sleeping?" I ask worriedly.

"Yeah."

…

"Ok, I'm getting a security system, I'm not ok with that at all." I comment while shaking my head.

She shrugs, "Whatever. Anyways I built you two weapons with a new type of firing mechanism besides the standard mass accelerator." She hands me a pistol with a two inch thick casing rectangularly wrapped around a boxy body sitting on top of a comfortable and stable grip. I aim the pistol at the wall and smile as I feel the perfect balance in it. Mein waves for me to give it to her and I do. "This is what I call... Quk'tun or I believe, 'Fire Cannon' in English." She pulls the casing back and it clicks once before snapping back to it's original position. "The precisely cut metal flecks are manipulated using a micro eezo core to become... heavy, or more massive a micro-second after the mass accelerator throws the fleck at sub-light-speed. This allows massive hitting power kinetically while allowing the fleck to not over-heat the pistol any more than usual." She aims at me and fires into my shields. The force of the small fleck throws be off my feet and onto the floor.

"Oh..." I groan as I sit up and see my shields were at 20% as a result. "Shit..."

Mein triumphantly smiles, "Yep, it's pretty powerful, unfortunately it costs over a quarter million credits in materials to produce one pistol so it's not really within our price range for mass production."

I stand up and crack my back, "Right, yeah. Wait." I grab the pistol and look it over, everything seemed pre-ME1 tech, just adjusted correctly with each other. A wicked smile creases my lips, "We could sell this class of weapons to Spectres!" I exclaim excitedly.

Mein smirks, "Yep, your insane, but sure. If we can get the right contract drawn up it'd be a good way to make nice with the Council and gain a pretty sizable profit. Now come over and look at the Sniper Rifle I made you."

I quickly holster my new pistol happily and walk up to marvel at the rifle she made. The entire body is solid and sturdy, boxy like the pistol, but also smooth as well. "This, is the Pic'sah, or 'Mass-Cutter', Mk 2."

I blink, "Mk 2?"

She nods, "The last one blew up in testing, the metal fleck hit sub-light-speed and turned to slam through the rifle's energy system, igniting the micro eezo core and blowing the whole damn thing up, nearly killing the holder."

I look at her worriedly, "Are they ok?"

"What? Oh, yes, their arms were blown off and they themselves are now a vegetable, but the Salarian signed a contract so don't worry about lawsuits." I shake my head at her in disbelief.

_God damn it Mein..._

I reluctantly wave my hand for her to continue on with the demonstration. "Well, just like with the pistol, a micro eezo core, or MEC, increases the fleck's mass just as it leaves the barrel, but due to the... issues with mounting such a critical device at the edge of the weapon, I decided to shorten the entire thing up and compact it for not only increased damage, stability, and power, but armor so if it's shot it won't blow up." She hands me the bulky rifle that reminds be of a rectangular rail-gun assault rifle and I groan at how heavy it is. "Yeah, this one was a little Bosh'tet with materials and processing. Damn thing doesn't like to hold together if it's light weight. At least it's balanced."

I heft it into a firing position Feirna taught me and smile as it balances just right for active combat. "Nice, but what about accuracy?" Mein flips a small trigger switch by my eye and a boxy scope unfolds. "Awesome. This thing gets five hundred meters! That's going to be great in recon." I bring it over my back and let it lock into place. "Whoa." I stagger to the left from the weight difference. I catch myself on the wall and stand in a solid stance to re-balance the weight of the Rifle. "Ok, so how about fire-rate?" Mein looks away and kneels down to dig around in the compartment that lifted out of my bedroom floor.

_Still going to get that security system._

She grabs something and stands back up to hold it out to me. "What is this?"

I take the large rectangular bar from her and turn it over in my hand, "I decided to add an experimental heat-diffusion system to your rifle." I look up at her carefully. "It collects heat from the rifle at an accelerated rate, allowing faster firing speeds without overheating the barrel. For all intense purposes it's an anti-friction modification." I let out a breath of relief.

_Oh thank goodness! If she said thermal clip I would have lost my shit. Nothing can change about that specific detail for another eleven years at the very LEAST._

"Great, how many shots should I expect?"

Mein taps her mouth piece in contemplation momentarily, "At least five, maybe more, and it takes three to forty seconds to cool down the rifle after overheated." I smile happily and hand her back the mod.

_I'm definitely going to start practicing my firearms again, no need to get rusty with what I'm packing._

I smile, "Thanks Mein, your name just dropped off my shit list." I comment as she closes up the floor again.

"Yeah, I masturbate to the sound of you breathing while you sleep." I clench my jaw and look at her to see she's serious.

I glare angrily at her as she grins, "And now you're back on. Congratulations."

She laughs, "Thank you." I grind my teeth and growl at her as I walk her out of the apartment and lock it behind me. "Where are you going?" She asks lazily.

"To the warehouse, I need to make a call." I respond quietly.

She shrugs, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow lover boy." I turn around to yell at her to leave me alone and she's gone.

"*sigh* Damn it." Folding my helmet back up, I take a deep breath of the recycled air and step into the elevator, hoping I can get Mein to leave me alone before she ends up cutting something important off in the night.

* * *

"What do you mean he escaped?!" An Eclipse Commando shouts before slamming her cup of tea down onto her metal desk.

"I'm telling you he did! Peeled his cell door right off with that robotic arm of his!" Another Asari exclaims dramatically.

"Well... why the hell did we even let him keep it in the first place?!" The Commando shouts.

The Asari goes to reply to her supervisor when a rustling is heard overhead. They look up and the Commando frowns at the ceiling. "What was that?" She asks angrily. The Asari shrugs as the vent creaks again, noticeably bending from some sort of creature inside.

Saren holds his breath as he struggles to stay as still as possible.

"Should I call the others in from the other outposts to search the facility?"

The Commando looks down at her desk to spot her rifle before carefully reaching for it while saying, "Yeah, sure. Bring in anyone you can find."

Saren's sharp hearing picks up on a clicking sound.

_Oh great..._

He takes a deep breath before slamming his body into the vent.

The Commando aims and fires onto the vent, peppering it with metal flecks.

Saren falls through the thin metal, smashes into a low-hanging ceiling and falling into a bathroom.

The Commando and Asari smirk in triumph before frowning as drips of green blood fall from the vent. They carefully approach and a dead Salarian in maintenance armor falls out of the weakened duct. The Asari screams as the Commando sighs in aggravation. "Call the clean up crew." She angrily mutters before going back to sip her tea.

Saren growls out in pain as his ass landed perfectly on a metal toilet and dented it. "Oh... I need some painkillers. *cough* Spirits does this hurt."

"You ok in there?" Saren freezes. He was naked, in a restroom, with no gun, behind enemy lines.

He coughs from the dust he inhaled on the way down and hears, "Um... yeah, yeah just... need a minute." from the stall beside him.

"You sure? Because I heard something crash in there."

Saren looks up and sees a huge hole in the ceiling where he fell through.

"Yeah."

"Alright." The person closes the door to the bathroom and Saren sighs in relief.

_This is becoming the weirdest escape in the history of my career._

He stands up and gathers his thoughts before opening the stall door just a crack to see a Turian walking out of the stall next to him in mercenary armor muttering, "Damn Skalik, scaring the shit out of me, falling out of ceilings." Saren blinks at the stupidity of the mercenary before he quickly guesses he might fit into the armor and readies his metallic arm's claws. The Turian walks over to the sink and looks down to wash his hands, Saren walks out of the stall, sneaks up behind him, and stabs him in the back of the head, slamming the Turian's face into the sink as the water runs, causing a pool of blue blood to fill up the sink and wash over and onto the tile floor.

Saren looks at himself in the mirror and nods. "This will do fine." He comments before tugging at the tight chest piece so his robotic arm didn't pierce the armor. "For now." He looks back at the dead Turian he stuck in the ceiling and shrugs, he didn't know him. Looking around, he spots the poor bastard's helmet sitting by the door and walks over to put it on. Checking the suit's systems he finds a map and groans as he sees he's eight floors underground.

_Whoever captured me knew how to hold high-risk targets. Perhaps the Shadow Broker, I doubt these Eclipse had even a hand in my capture. They're too incompetent._

Saren adjusts his collar and walks out into the hallway. Another Turian, this time in yellow Eclipse armor, pushes off the wall and walks towards him, "You ready?" Saren nods. "Then lets go. We've wasted enough time already." Saren follows the Turian down the hall and into an elevator. The Turian taps floor B3 and the doors close.

_Lets see what's behind the curtain, now that I have armor all I need is a weapon and a functioning amp and I'll be able to fight my way out. _

"What happened in there?" The Turian asks as he leans nonchalantly against the wall left of the door. Saren shrugs and says, "Don't know, something fell through the ceiling so I killed it."

The Turian blinks at him before shaking his head and smiling, "One of these days I'm going to have to see for myself if all of these wild stories you tell are true or not." Saren nods and looks up at the display to see that they were just arriving at their floor.

_I'm not leaving yet, I need to get a weapon and some information._

Saren walks on, following the rare Turian Eclipse trooper through an extremely hostile environment.

* * *

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow lover boy." Mein says before quickly jumping up and clinging to the ceiling for dear life as Scorpio turns to shout at her and sees her not there.

"*sigh* Damn it." Scorpio states in aggravation. Mein smiles from under her helmet, she loved messing with him.

_Maybe I'll tag along without him knowing. I'm curious about this call he has to make._

She waits for the elevator to close with Scorpio inside before taking a deep breath and dismounting perfectly off the ceiling. She turns around to walk up to the elevator doors and pry them open. Turning on her night vision, she eyes the cables that held the elevator in place carefully. She looks down to see the elevator about two floors below her and descending rapidly. "Great, freefall." She sighs and jumps into the elevator shaft. The air rushes past her as she falls over thirty feet before latching on a clamp she drew from her belt to the cables, slowing her down enough to land gracefully on top of the elevator. She looks up as she places the clamp back in her belt. "Huh, three floors, four floors, he must have made a deal with security or something for it to go this fast." Mein sits down and opens up her omni-tool to look over a shielding capacitor she was developing.

_Oh... why can't we get more rare materials?! I need a lot more materials for these bosh'tet upgrades!_

She sighs in annoyance as the elevator stops on the ground floor. She waits the required twenty seconds before opening up the security hatch and dropping in. looking around she sees Scorpio at the entrance and runs off, adamant to see what he was doing.

* * *

Scorpio's black and red skycar lands in its regular spot near the entrance to his office, he gets out and discreetly unlocks the door while keeping an eye out behind him using a mirror on the inside of the bullet-proof glass.

_Always the cautious one, comes with the job I guess._

Mein lowers her optical zoom back to 100% and waits for Scorpio to enter the office before judging the distance and jumping from the adjacent warehouse's rooftop and onto Scorpio's. She rolls with the fall and grunts as her hood catches on the anti-burglar spikes Scorpio installed. She curses as she sees a small tear in it and carefully steps along the rows of spikes to look over the edge and wonder why she didn't just stow away inside his skycar like before. Mein takes a careful step back before leaping off the thirty-foot high roof and rolling as she lands. She stops just shy of hitting his skycar and hides behind it while she zooms into his office to see him speaking to an Asari over his FTL communicator.

_What are you up to my little pretty? Plotting to invade Thessia? Keeping tabs on a certain Volus on the Citadel? Dealing with the Shadow Broker?_

She giggles at the thought of slicing his carotid artery and holding him as his sweet nectar spewed like a fountain of hot liquid all over his nice clean apartment. She shakes her head.

_No! I promised myself to stop killing people that haven't actually done anything illegal! Keelah I need a hobby._

Her focus shifts as she sees Scorpio get physically more aggressive and adamant about what he's saying to the Asari, which seems indifferent.

_*scoff* Probably some whore from Illium or something equally dirty, maybe I'll invade the next Asari I see's sexual organs with my knife to get my mood back to normal for tomorrow._

She shrugs.

_Or a Salarian, maybe I'll incinerate him and throw his ashes into Scorpio's coffee maker for tomorrows morning brew... again. *sigh* I'm loosing my evil, I need another cult member to talk to._

She smiles and brings up her omni-tool to call Grelin.

_He should know something devious I can do with a pitch fork!_

"Mein? What are you doing here?" Mein freezes and slowly looks up to see Scorpio standing on the other side of his skycar, watching her carefully.

_Oh, perfect._

"Oh, Hi Dylan, just getting some fresh air." She cringes as she realizes that expression doesn't matter with her, it's all filtered.

Scorpio smiles and shakes his head, "Yeah, right. Anyways you didn't need to stalk me to see who I was calling, you need to know since you're head of R&amp;D anyways."

Mein shakes her head.

_How did he...?_

She looks at his helmet and smiles, she programmed it to watch for enemies trailing you. "Right, well... what's going on?" She asks neutrally.

Scorpio looks off to the side and says, "Something is happening, I'm not sure what, but we need to be ready. I can feel the unease in the air." Mein nods slowly, she knew what he meant, everything was... off. It was in the ripples of dark energy, they seemed... more erratic than normal.

"Alright, yeah. Now can you drop me off at Grelin's? I need a new way to murder someone or I'm going to go insane with boredom and start cutting pieces of you off in the night." She states seriously.

Scorpio just stares at her, unblinking for a moment before saying, "Jump in, I know the route."

* * *

"Rila? I didn't expect you back so soon. You working another double shift?" The perky Asari attendant exclaims as she notices Rila walking through the lobby.

Rila looks over and smiles briefly, "No I'm just picking up something personal from my desk." She responds calmly.

The attendant nods and unlocks the elevator for her, as is policy for after-hours comings and goings. Rila steps inside, carefully shifting her pistol to the left as she does, so it's hidden from the camera in the corner. She had a mission, a mission that could get her killed if she botched it, and she was just that more excited because of it.

_I'm doing this for Scorpio._

_He cups my cheek, and my skin tingles at the sensation._

She shakes her head clear, that kiss was killing her with her own libido. She thought it was a good idea to get his attention, but she's just suffering even more as a result.

_Damn these slow elevators!_

She discreetly taps her fingers against her pistol nervously, it was against regulation to keep it under her uniform but she wasn't here to work.

*DING*

She looks up and smiles at the two APC officers that were just getting off shift as they pass her into the elevator. She turns her pistol to the back of her uniform and walks through the security gate slightly faster then normal to trick the sensor. "You lost your pistol Rila?" Security officer Eriana asks as Rila walks through.

"No, just here to get something personal, I left it in my car." She lies. Eriana nods in understanding and lets her through.

Rila sighs in relief as she gets to her desk and sits down before reaching under her desk to grab the emergency back-ups she had of her data in a secret compartment. She smiles as she feels the OSDs before taking them out and gently placing them into a pocket on her calf.

_Thank the Goddess they didn't find the back-ups._

She'd been investigating the corruption of the entire APC for months now, ever since she found out someone purposely directed her into a shootout.

_Thank the Goddess Scorpio and the Quarians were able to handle it well._

Rila already suspects half her department and the Commissioner herself is on the take.

_Ever since the Eclipse took over all the illegal smuggling the Blue Suns left when they were annexed via burning skycar, a lot of the personal incomes of the APC have almost doubled!_

Rila shakes her head as she looks over her fried terminal and burned physical files she kept at her desk, a lot of them could have gotten all of her division and the Commissioner executed for high-treason of the Asari Republics twice over. Good thing she had back-ups.

Rila stands up after grabbing her favorite coffee mug with a inspirational saying, 'The Goddess doesn't care if you drink coffee instead of tea.' stamped into the side and walks around, avoiding the major surveillance sites as she carefully made her way towards the commissioner's office. She loved Ceal like a sister, but she was wrong in taking the Eclipses bribes so she needed to go. Rila leans forward towards the coffee/tea making station in the one blind spot in the office and places a security override hack on the main control panel she had routed to her floor, allowing her to quickly dash over and use a hack she... might have stole from Scorpio when he was listening to Mein's disgusting and terrifying stories.

_I'll have to apologize to him later._

She smiles as the hack immediately opens up Ceal's office and re-locks it behind her.

"Ok, lets see here..." She plugs in a security bypass chit Mein lent her and sees the terminal flash before bringing up the main screen. Rila smiles and starts a transfer to her omni-tool.

*pop*

Rila freezes. She looks around the office desk to hear someone trying to break into Ceal's office.

_Shit!_

She covers the chit with a file and sets the computer to its screen-saver as she rolls under the desk. The door opens and she hears someone walk in before closing the door. She carefully pulls out and unfolds her pistol, clicking the safety off as the person walks towards the desk.

_Please, please, please... let it not be Ceal!_

She almost sighs in relief when a Salarian in Maintenance armor sits and starts typing away at the terminal. She freezes as she sees the distinctive color of eclipse armor under the maintenance suit. Rila aims her pistol and fires one silenced round into the Salarian's foot, forcing him to fall off of the chair and take a quick biotic punch to the head, knocking him out. "Damn..." She looks over the unconscious Salarian in slight sadness before she looks at the door as it opens. She quickly rips out her chit and locks up the terminal after seeing it was done downloading.

* * *

"Rila? What are you doing in my office?" Ceal asks in confusion as she walks in and spots Rila aiming Ceal's back-up pistol at a Salarian knocked out on the floor.

"Ceal! I caught this Salarian hacking into your terminal. He's wearing eclipse armor under his maintenance suit." Rila states quickly.

Ceal's sharp eyebrows dive into the comical stage, "WHAT?! HOW?!" Ceal jumps forward and turns her terminal to search her data and see that all her files were gone. Ceal growls as the Salarian starts to stir awake.

"Oh... Wha-?" Ceal kicks the Salarian's head, forcing him to flip over and start coughing up blood.

"Get this scum to the interrogation room!" Ceal shouts. Rila grabs the Salarian and cuffs him. "And bring my chair with you too! I'll need it." Rila stops at the door and sighs before aiming Ceal's back-up pistol at the Salarian and ordering him to carry the chair.

* * *

Ceal glares across the metal table at the smirking Salarian in eclipse armor. "You... break into my office, my work... for a SECURITY FILE?!" Ceal jumps up and flips the table at the Salarian, nearly crushing him to death before two APC officers standing in the corner drag him back into the Chair of Tears for another round of 'questioning'. Rila shakes her head from observation. This was one of the reasons they needed to clean house. Ever since everyone started taking bribes they think they're invincible.

_Ceal... why can't you just stay calm?_

She shakes her head for the tenth time and sighs sadly. She didn't like the Salarian, but it was torture being a toy of Ceal's wrath. "I'm going to rip off your horns Salarian and feed them to you before shoving you into a freezer for eleven days." Ceal growls in the Salarian's face. The Salarian doesn't flinch.

"You know our deal Ceal, you can't hurt us, we can't hurt yo-" *BLAM* Rila gawks in shock as Ceal fires a round directly through the Salarian's head, splattering green blood onto the observation window.

"You have nothing on me..." Ceal whispers angrily. "No more deals with the Eclipse, no more secrets. This has gone too far. If you want a war... I'll give you a war." Rila shakes in horror as Ceal walks up to the two officers and fires two more shots into their heads killing them instantly.

_WHAT?!_

Rila dashes to the interrogation door and slams it open, Ceal aims her pistol at her and she whips out her own pistol in defense. "You too Rila? I thought you were better then this." Ceal growls.

Rila's hands are shaking as she stutters out, "I-I'm not w-working for the Eclipse. Why?! Why did you kill them?!"

Ceal's comical glare softens and she lowers her pistol. "*sigh* Rila, these two were under the Eclipse's pay grade, if I hadn't killed them they would have killed me."

Rila holds back her tears and lowers her pistol, "What are we going to do?"

Ceal's glare is back, "Well, considering I just declared war on the Eclipse, and the fact that they stole ALL of my files... it means we need to prepare for the worst."

Rila gulps and reluctantly asks, "What is the worst possible scenario?" Ceal looks back at the bodies behind them in deep thought. "Ceal, what is the worst possible scenario?" Rila asks again.

Ceal sighs and turns back to look Rila in the eye with absolute fear, "We get executed before the new rulers of Thessia."

* * *

Drifting through the empty blackness of space, a lone Batarian Cruiser lies in wait around the small moon of an uncharted planet in the Widow Cluster.

Urdnot Kantor finishes up a roasted leg of Asari as two Salarians in Eclipse armor walk inside his personal cabin. "Captain." One says, trying to get Kantor's attention. Kantor grunts while chewing on the femur of the unfortunate Asari. The Salarians look at one another before saying simultaneously, "Captain."

Kantor growls and turns in his massive eating chair he had brought in from the command center because it was comfy. "WHAT?!" He shouts furiously.

The Salarian's flinch at the purple blood staining the armor of the Krogan Battlemaster. A piece of violet flesh falls from his giant maw as he chews and the second Salarian immediately hurls on the spot. The other Salarian coughs, "We... wish to inform you that the other battle groups are arriving, you are required to give a speech to the crew. They are waiting in the hanger for when you..." The Krogan grabs an arm and chomps off the hand in one bite. "...finish your lunch." The second Salarian hurls again. And the first pales in shock.

Kantor spits out the finger bones and grins in approval, "Yes, I will go immediately. Bag up the rest for my afternoon meal will you?" Kantor wipes his face on the table cloth and stands from his massive chair before stomping past them and into the elevator connecting his cabin to the rest of the ship. He turns around and points a massive armored finger at them. "And don't forget my chair! I want it up in the command center by the end of my speech or I'll bite your heads off!" The doors close and the two Salarian's look at the mangled Asari laying in dozens of pieces all across the long table. Sitting next to the Asari's severed head lay a Krogan ceremonial blade stained with every color of blood imaginable. The second Salarian pukes onto the floor for the third time and the first passes out as they see that one of the Asari's eyes had... fallen out of its skull.

* * *

Kantor smiles as he looks over the massive hanger holding over a hundred fighters and bombers all 'procured' for their mission. "FELLOW MERCENARIES!" Kantor's voice booms across the entire hanger, he didn't need a microphone. "YOU MAY NOT BE KROGAN LIKE ME BUT WITHOUT THIS SHIP THERE IS NO VICTORY! SO DON'T FUCK UP AND BLOW IT!" An Asari taps him on the shoulder to whisper in his ear. He nods and looks back to the crowd of frightened mercs, "WE ARE ECLIPSE! WE FIGHT FOR OUR OWN! WE FIGHT FOR OUR PAYCHECK! AND TODAY, WE RECLAIM OUR HOME!" He stops to hear a few more whispers and turns back to see everyone looking a lot less scared, even a bit inspired. "TODAY WE SEE THE COWARDS ON THE COUNCIL FLOP LIKE DEAD VARREN! TODAY WE SHOW THEM THE MIGHT OF THE ECLIPSE! TODAY... WE RECLAIM THESSIA! RAAAHHHHH!" His battle cry blasts across the hanger bay, exciting cheers of moral support for the cannibalistic Battlemaster. Kantor nods quickly before turning back and, in a fit of adrenaline, physically tears the Asari that was helping him's head right off. Everyone gasps in shock as he decides to chuck it over the crowd. "NOW GET BACK TO WORK!" Kantor demands. Everyone quickly goes back to preparing the ship for combat and Kantor turns to stomp past the dead and still heavily bleeding Asari and into the Elevator again. "Put that thing on ice for my victory meal!" He shouts at the two shaking Asari Commandos that just witnessed their friend's head get ripped off of her body, their armor splattered by the fountain of blood that erupted from the corpse. They nod vigorously and reluctantly go to pick up their friend's... body as the elevator doors shut. Kantor nods his head to the annoying elevator music only he seemed to find catchy. He burps and a finger bone flies out of his mouth to hit the wall and slowly slide down it. He shrugs and licks his lips, "Hmm... needs more salt."

*DING*

The elevator opens up to the bridge and he stomps up to the front to see six Asari just finishing placing his chair back into place. He grins wickedly and sits in his comfy chair before turning back to look out of the viewing window and watch as two more Batarian Cruisers fall out of FTL to join his massing fleet. "Oh I love being in charge."

* * *

Rila gawks at Ceal in disbelief, "H-How?"

Ceal shakes her head, "I don't know how! If I did I'd have already stopped it!"

Rila shakes her head, "No, no! It's impossible! They can't take over an entire planet! They don't have the-" Rila's eyes widen as she remembers what Scorpio said about the mechs. "Oh Goddess..."

Ceal looks at her with the biggest, 'yeah, I fucking told you so' look imaginable. "No shit. We have MAYBE two hundred officers, less then a twentieth of them still loyal, to hold all of Armali! The Eclipse have bases located all over the city! They must have been planning something REALLY big if they need five bases in ONE city." Ceal looks back at the bodies of her once friends-turned-enemies and groans as she sees she might have overdone it with the gunfire. Blood covered everything in the room. "We need to prepare, start cleaning house as soon as possible." Ceal states darkly. She turns to Rila, "Anyone who refuses to fight gets a bullet to the head am I clear?!" Rila gulps and only nods her head.

She didn't want to kill anyone, but... "Sure, I already have an outline showing who's corrupt in the APC." Rila takes out her OSDs and shows them to Ceal.

Ceal laughs, "Damn, forgot about back-ups, I'm so glad you're as paranoid as your little boy-toy Scorpio."

Rila blushes and looks away in embarrassment, "I- We aren't together yet!"

Ceal scoffs, "Yeah, that smile on your lips says otherwise."

Rila lowers her head and bites her tongue in conflict, she wanted to talk with Scorpio, just tell him how she felt, but she didn't want him distracted from his work. She wishes it would just be easier but every time she looks him in the eye... she just can't breath. "W-We have a lot of work to do! Just... drop it. Please?" Ceal laughs at Rila as they walk out of the interrogation room and down the hall. They had A LOT of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it.

* * *

I sigh as I find Mein following my skycar in her own as I make my way back to my office. "When is she going to quit bugging me?" I ask myself as my skycar lands in my parking space near the entrance. I walk up to the door and look through the small mirror inside to see that-

_Yep she's still following me, how the hell did she get onto the roof next door so quickly?_

I shake my head and move inside. "LIA turn on the lights and call up the FTL communicator." I walk up to the circle of mechanical holographic parts on the floor and access it via omni-tool as it boots up.

Ok, call her up, talk about Thessia, get her to send reinforcements, got it.

I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

_I never thought I'd have to use a social visit with the Asari Councilor to warn her of an imminent threat to Thessia. Huh, life's mysteries._

I look up as I hear Mein walking across the roof and sigh in disappointment.

_I'm not surprised she CAN sneak across rooftops, but she couldn't sneak well enough to fool me if her life depended on it. Maybe I'll teach her one of these days._

I shrug in indifference and type up the number Rilana gave me. "Lets hope this works..."

*PING, PING, PING, PING...*

The communicator turns on to show...

_Uh..._

I stare in shock as I see the Asari Councilor... sitting in her underwear, painting her toenails. She looks up and gasps before turning the camera away, I cover my eyes, "Sorry! Sorry, Rila said you'd be available around this time!" I yelp in shock.

"What? Why are you-? Oh Goddess! Is Rila in trouble?! Is this a ransom?!" She shouts.

I shake my head, "NO! No, I just needed to speak to you about something going on here on Thessia."

"Wait..." I wait, not daring to look at the holo-projector again. "Your name is Dylan correct? Dylan David Scorpio?" I nod without looking. "You can look, I'm fine with it now that I know who you are."

"Uh... I would prefer it if you put on a robe or something." I respond.

She scoffs and I think I hear a certain derogatory slur towards men that I frown at before she steps back into view with a robe on. "There, is that better?" She asks bitterly.

I nod, "Yes, I just think it's a bit rude to... see your friend's mother's... bits out in the open." I fight to keep my blush from boiling to the surface.

She sits back on what looks like a couch of some kind, "So, how's Rila?" I blink at her.

_Is she really asking ME about that?_

"I... think she's fine, for the moment. There's a pressing issue on Thessia Councilor Tevos, and you need to hear about."

She sighs, "Well, for one I actually don't since I'm off duty, but I might as well since you're already here. And two, I'd like to know your interest in my daughter." She watches me dangerously.

_Like a mother panther, Udina... you are a shit-head but at least you know your politics._

"Uh... She's my closest friend if that's what you're asking."

She stares at me strangely, just watching me fidget under her gaze, "You two kissed didn't you?" My eyes widen in shock. She grins, "Awe... my little Ri-Ri is finally starting to date! It's so exciting!" I internally laugh.

_Ri-Ri?_

"Um... she said she'd give me your personal number if I kissed her." I clarify.

She smirks, "And getting bold... she's becoming more and more like her father every day." She crosses her legs and leans forward, "How was it?" I blink rapidly in extreme confusion.

"How was what?" I ask nervously.

She sighs, "Look, I can't talk to her about it so you are the only other one I have to get my information from." She smirks. "So... how did she do?"

I feel my fingers start to shake and I let them wring my wrists for some release of socio-sympathetic tension. "She..." I clear my throat and take a deep breath before blinking back to that moment. "She... blended into the passionate, hungry allure of the kiss and blindly let her emotions rule over herself..." I blink away as the ache in my chest tightens. "I stopped it before it got too heated and we did... well... each other." I grind my teeth uncomfortably.

_I'm talking to the Asari Councilor about how well her daughter kissed me... how the hell did this happen?_

"Ah... I remember the feeling of being in love... everything just being ignored except the want to tear off that white vest and bite her in the neck until she screams my name..." I stare uncomfortably. "Oh, sorry... got lost in thought. Now that that's cleared up, what did you want to tell me?" She sits back and starts painting her fingernails.

I blink at her in a strange sense of underwhelm and expressive criticism before opening my mouth to speak my bit, "I have good reason to believe that Thessia is going to be attacked, soon." She looks at me in... annoyance?

"What? You people can't stop pissing me off at work now you have to call me during my private hours?!" She glares at me, but I keep myself stone cold.

"Councilor! The Eclipse are massive an army! They have already infiltrated the security network of the APC! We have no time for petty squabbles." I explain with as much diplomatic reason I can muster.

She sighs, "Why do you think Thessia is going to be attacked?"

I fold my hands behind my back, "You already know Saren is on Thessia do you not?" She frowns at me. "Well... then you should also know that a well-known ex-slaver is on their way to Thessia as we speak and as such I believe they wish to sell Saren off to fund their experimental mech programs detailed in a Spectre Recruit's report on an incident four months back where one Spectre was killed and the other, captured." She stares blankly at me. "There is evidence that they wish to completely control the illegal markets not only on Thessia, but elsewhere, making the Terminus systems a unified threat to Council Space!" She continues to stare blankly.

"Are you done?" She asks angrily. I nod respectfully. "Good, now why are you telling me this?"

I frown, "You have the authority to assign more protection to Thessia, whether it be with ships, Spectres, or just better security planet-side you have the auth-"

She cuts me off, "Ok, I doubt Thessia is in danger, but if it was I would be the last person to sign off protection for it. The entire Citadel Fleet is for the Citadel, all of Asari Space's ships are always occupied, and the local police can handle their own problems. Thessia hasn't been invaded in the HISTORY of our people, and you have the audacity to suggest it isn't properly protected?!"

"Councilor Tevos, let me-" She cuts me off again.

"No, I am not going to listen to any of this anymore!" She goes to shut off the communicator and I lose all my patience.

I stomp my foot and feel my biotics flare while I growl out, "Fine! But when the streets run with blood and the entire population looks up to shout at me to save them..." I get right up in her holo-face as her eyes widen, "I'll tell them you said 'No.'" I punch the display and the communication terminates as the podium breaks apart from my biotics. "Son of a bitch!" I grab my hand and wince through the pain.

_She is almost as think-headed as Sparatus, thankfully it's only about Thessia and not the Reapers in a few years._

"Oh... fuck." I wave my hand around as I lock up and leave, still trying to get over the frustration I feel from being dismissed... by a Councilor. I sigh in aggravation and walk up to my skycar to see-

"Mein?" I ask in slight shock.

She turns from her omni-tool and looks at me in surprise, "Oh, Hi Dylan, just getting some fresh air."

I smile from her terrible joke and shake my head, "Yeah, right. Anyways you didn't need to stalk me to see who I was calling, you need to know since you're head of R&amp;D anyways."

Mein shakes her head, then she stares at me for a while and says, "Right, well... what's going on?" She asks neutrally.

I look off to the side worriedly, "Something is happening, I'm not sure what, but we need to be ready. I can feel the unease in the air." I swallow as I feel nervous once again.

_God, is it just her?_

Mein nods slowly, "Alright, yeah. Now can you drop me off at Grelin's? I need a new way to murder someone or I'm going to go insane with boredom and start cutting pieces of you off in the night." She states seriously.

I stare uncomfortably at her, unblinking for a moment before saying, "Jump in, I know the route." We get inside and I activate the accelerator while using my limited knowledge about driving to get us there within two near-accidents. She waves at me as she walks up to the small apartment building Grelin decided to stay at so as to not draw attention to himself.

"HEY! MEIN! WHAT'S MURDERING YA?!" I cringe as I hear Grelin scream his greeting from INSIDE his apartment on the third floor.

_*sigh* So much for laying low._

I shake my head and direct my Skycar back to my apartment.

_I wonder how Nihlus is doing with his leads. I hope they went well enough._

* * *

I walk into my apartment and at the sight of my pane window shattered and blue drips of blood scattered around the area, my paranoia from years of watching for stalkers kicks in. I whip out my new pistol and search the apartment, looking everywhere I can before following the blood trail into my bedroom to find-

"Nihlus!" I rush to his side and have to use my biotics to roll him over. He gasps in pain and jumps up before running out into the living room, "Nihlus! Calm down!" I shout as I bolt after him. He turns at my voice and falls back-wards onto my coffee table.

_My coffee table!_

Thankfully it just wobbles for a second before stabilizing under his three-hundred pound body. "Nihlus, what the hell happened?!" He just gasps at me as I run up to find him wounded. I inspect the wound in his side and judge the sniper shot went right through.

_A near-miss, miss-directed probably from the bullet-proof glass I'll have to get a refund for since it's clearly NOT BULLET-PROOF!_

"Nihlus, hold on!" I call up my onmi-tool and apply medigel onto the entry and exit wounds. Nihlus sighs in relief and he calms down.

_Fucking hell..._

"Nihlus, what the hell happened?" I ask while he sits up.

He shakes his head and stares at me, "I was coming back here to talk to you about a..." He blinks. "A... problem that happened." He starts drifting.

I snap my fingers in his face, "Hey, hey, stay awake man. I'll get you some Tupari." I dash over to the fridge and grab the first Dextro Tupari I see before rushing back to find Nihus groaning as he lays on my coffee table. "Hey, here." I hand him the drink and he takes it before sitting up and chugging the whole damn thing like usual. I smile and laugh at the sight, "Yeah, you're fine."

He groans and holds his side as he stands. I motion him to his chair and he plops down into it. "Damn... why didn't you just let me bleed out?" He asks as he winces from the medigel not being strong enough.

I smirk, "Hey, death is IMPOSSIBLE to get out of a coffee table, I've already spent 20 grand on this one I don't want to pay for another for at least six years." He laughs and grabs his side in shock. "Sorry man, I buy the fast acting, fast repair medigel, not the high-end 'anti all known pain' crap that costs two thousand creds a freaking packet." He laughs and glares at me as it causes more pain. "I have some painkillers from last time you ended up bed-ridden here if you want them." His silent glare was his answer. "Ok then Mr. 'I like to get shot a lot', keep your proverbial panties on." I get up and dodge his claw as he laughs again, shooting pain up his side.

_Ok, ok, Turian painkillers, Turian Morphine painkillers... Aha!_

I take the bottle out of the cabinet and sigh in relief that they expired in two months.

_Well, better then nothing. At least they aren't hazardously expired like last time._

Grabbing a new syringe out of the cabinet I rush to the living room to see he's turned on the TV and was watching sports. I shake my head and surprise-inject him with the morphine like last time he was sick from an infection and I found out he's terrified of needles.

"Yah!" He screams out and tries to claw me, but I jump out of the way too quickly. He scrapes his neck, panicking that something was in him he didn't know about. I hold back my laughter for the ten seconds it takes to kick in. He stops panicking and holds out his arms like he was high. "Oh... wow... shit." I burst out laughing and he whips his head around to ask, "Can I get some more of that? Damn that stuff is good I can't feel a thing!"

_HAHAHA! Oh god he is so awesome._

"Sure, in about eight hours when this stuff wears off." He groans and goes back to watching the national Bio-Ball championships held by AAH annually in the spring. I cringe as one of the top athletes takes a bio-ball to the gut and throws up purple blood.

_God... why is an Asari sport so violent?_

"WHOA! TAKE THAT TERIA YOU BITCH!" Nihlus jumps up and starts doing a little dance.

_Oh god that's just-_

"Nihlus how are you doing? What happened?" I ask with laughter in my voice.

_I swear if he starts doing the robot I'm going to die!_

He turns around and blinks at me before shaking his head, "Right, right. Uh... I was coming over a day early to report an alarming find." He looks at my shattered picture window. "That's when someone tried to take a hit on me, bullet just grazed me and another shot missed just as I staggered down the hall trying to find where the Spirits your bathroom was, and passed out in your bedroom." He rubs his forehead, "I think I hit something other than carpet when I fell since it really knocked me out."

_Mein's hidden compartment._

"Yeah, I should have that looked at." I comment.

_And re-formatted to be less... conspicuous._

"What did you have to talk to me about? What did you find?" I ask while pocketing the Morphine so he isn't tempted.

He looks back to the window, "There's something happening, all the Eclipse bases seem to be mobilizing. Their troops are all moving crates around, the same from the Carrier." He turns back to look at me worriedly, "There's going to be a war, but I don't think they can take the planet. Maybe the city, but never all of Thessia, not without thousands more troops."

I go to speak, but my voice catches in my throat. I sit back into my recliner and hold my head in my hands.

_Oh fuck... this is not good. Every path I can see in my head leads to more death..._

"What are our options Nihlus?" I look at him. "What do you see happening?" I ask worriedly.

He lowers his head in contemplation, "At least two thousand casualties within the first hour, another eight in the second. It keeps multiplying from there."

"Fuck..." I breath out in shock.

He shakes his head, "I assume the Council needs to know about it."

I shake my head, "I already tried to talk to them!" I shout angrily, "The Asari Councilor said Thessia hasn't and will never be invaded!" Nihlus growls in disagreement.

"The fucking Council!" He throws his arms up in exasperation and starts pacing around the living room while I thought.

_Mein has those T-7 gunships and all of the APC's last shipment of weapons and armor. We might be able to distribute them to civilians or maybe the students at AAH so we can- Feirna!_

I call up my omni-tool and cal her, "Feirna!"

She blinks at me tiredly, "Scorpio?"

"No time, listen there's a war coming and when it does I need you to arm anyone and everyone you can!"

…

"What are you talking about?" She asks tiredly while shaking her head.

I sigh, "The Eclipse are moving to attack Thessia and I need everyone to be ready for when they do!" I hang up on her and quickly jump up to grab Nihlus as he continues to panic and pace in distress. "Nihlus!" I shake him out of his shock, "We need to know the locations of the Eclipse's bases! Their armaments, their weapons, everything you can get! You know how to do recon?" Nihlus silently nods his head vigorously, "Good, then do it! Report back to me on this secure channel with a ping if your in trouble, a call if you found something." I send him the secure line I programmed for my company and he nods.

"You know, I never pegged you for a leader." He pats me on the shoulder and I nod to him.

"Stay safe, stay true my friend." I say worriedly.

He smirks, "Yeah, yeah, see you in a couple of hours." He grabs his rifle and taps an icon on his wrist before running up to the shattered pane window and diving through. I run up to it and laugh as I see he called his skycar and jumped right into it as it arrived. I wave to him, severe worry and anxiety sickening my stomach.

_I hope he's going to be alright._

I reach over my shoulder and arm myself with my new compact sniper rifle as I have LIA bring up my skycar to the window. I jump in and remotely shut down my apartment as it locks down for the night. "Scorpio, your suit is responding that you are extremely stressed." LIA comments as I take the proverbial wheel and drive the skycar back towards my warehouse.

"There's something I need you to tell Rila, if something happens to me." I hold my tears back as I feel my heart fill with guilt, "Tell her that I'm doing this for everyone we know and love." LIA silently acknowledges and I focus back on the airway.

_Thessia will NOT fall as long as I'm still alive._

I kick the accelerator and fly off towards my destination, absolutely certain I could die in the first attack if I mess this up.

* * *

A/N :D


	17. Unlikely Allies

A/N Read, Review, and Enjoy!

* * *

3-9-2172

"What is a god without mercy?" I mutter as I lower my head in shock from what the Eclipse had done.

I feel tears threaten to fall as I look away from the display and try to keep myself calm.

_These people need me to be strong, but..._

I sniffle and take in a deep breath before looking back at the screen and watching the footage of an army of mechs roaming the streets, killing everyone they see. Buildings collapsing from bombing raids, the APC building getting bombarded from orbit...

_Why didn't she listen to me?_

I turn away and shake my head at the piles of dead around me, the last one left. The door opens to my left and I hear someone aim at me.

_I'm ready, I'm fucking ready you sons of bitches!_

I turn, raise my sniper rifle, and fire. *BLAM*

* * *

(5 hours earlier)

Seila's foot knocks back the last Salarian engineer as she shifts her shotgun into his gut and fires, splattering the fucker's green blood across the nice, clean, white wall behind him. "Bosh'tet!" She shouts before bringing up her omni-tool to overload a mech just turning the corner.

Instantly it's head explodes, "BOOM! Headshot!" Raxus shouts out from cover.

Seila dives to the side as another Eclipse Operative rounds the corner to fire at her. "Take this!" She fires her Katana shotgun into the Asari's leg, mangling it at the exact second Raxus' concussive shot breaks her shields. The Asari screams as she bleeds out, her leg severed from her body.

"ROCKETS!" Raxus shouts before pulling Seila by the waist into cover. The two rockets explode into their cover, cracking the heavy crate.

Seila coughs before shaking off her shock and drawing her pistol, "This wasn't part of the plan was it?" She fires twice blindly at the twenty mechs advancing on their cover.

Raxus scoffs, "It's working perfectly!" He shouts back sarcastically. His eyes widen and he dives to the side and into new cover to avoid being blown up by another rocket fired from the turret mounted against the far wall. A metal support falls to smash into the mechs from above. Raxus looks up and stares at the collapsing roof in shock. "CAVE IN!" He dashes out of cover, ignoring his beeping shields to body-tackle Seila into the next room just as the warehouse collapses behind them. He holds her down, hearing the metal and plastic snap and scrape behind them. The floor stops shaking and he opens his eyes to sigh in relief that they were still alive. "Thank the spirits." He sits up and gives Seila a helping hand before sighing as he sees they dove into a hallway.

"Hey!" He freezes as he sees two eclipse in the reflection of Seila's mask.

_Fuck._

He waits for them to get a little closer before whipping around to claw directly into the Eclipse's neck, slicing the Asari's throat. Seila fires her shotgun into the other trooper, ripping her chest apart. Raxus looks at her in appreciation before a red laser dot reflects off of her mask, knowing what it is Raxus kicks her out of the way of the sniper shot. "Sniper!" He calls as he jumps forward to find cover behind another crate. "Spirits their dedicated!" Another shot goes off over their conveniently placed crate and Raxus draws his sniper rifle before quick-shooting the sniper directly through the head. "HAHAHA!" He smiles at the perfect shot before re-focusing his next shot at the three Eclipse troopers rushing into the hallway. "Die you pathetic Asari! HAHA! *BLAM*"

Seila shakes her head as she starts to look at the OSD's they managed to steal before the entire mission went to hell. "Damn it!" She swears as the Eclipse encrypted the OSD's.

Raxus kills another trooper before crouching to wait for his heat sink to cool off. "What's the problem?"

"They encrypted their damn OSD's!" She shouts as she keeps the Eclipse at bay with her pistol.

"Can't you just hack it?"

She glares to her right, "I'm a programmer! I don't hack anything! I MAKE security systems for the Flotilla not wreck them!" She shouts angrily as one of her stray shots manages to head-shot an Asari out of cover. "Come and suck it you bosh'tets!" She shouts out happily.

"Then toss it over hear! We have no time!" Raxus shouts as he fires another sniper round at the Eclipse's cover. Seila reluctantly slides it over to him before firing blindly to keep the troopers at bay.

Raxus plugs it into his omni-tool and starts dedicatedly typing away and five seconds later he shouts, "I'm in!" Seila looks over in shock before refocusing on the troopers as her shields take a spray of assault fire. Raxus types on his omni-tool, transferring the data they need on a Volus info broker that might know where th- "Spirits!" He shouts in shock, "The Eclipse are going to execute him today!"

"What?" Seila fires at the last Asari.

"Damn it! He's located on the other side of the city! We need to get over there now-" Raxus stops.

"SHIT!" She ducks under a warp the Asari Commando tossed. "Bosh'tet! Cover me!" She jumps up out of cover.

"Seila! Damn it!" Raxus aims at the Commando and fires one shot before Seila ducks under a throw and draws a small black blade out of her boot to stab straight up through the Asari's head and ripping it out of her skull before turning to flick off the blood before the dead Asari even hit the floor. "Spirits..." He holsters his rifle and stands out of cover to walk over. "Where did you learn how to do that?!" He exclaims in shock.

Seila smiles fondly at the HVB blade her mother stole during her pilgrimage and gave to her for protection in her own. "My mother taught me how to kill with efficiency."

Raxus kicks the dead Asari before laughing, "Well, she's definitely dead. You are one feisty little temptress aren't you?"

Seila mockingly scowls at him, "Shut up, do you still have the blueprints of this place?" She sheaths her HVB short blade back into her boot and steps to the side.

Raxus scoffs and brings up a holo-map outlining the facility. "We are here." He points to the center of the facility. "Oh, well... we're fucked."

Seila shrugs, "Is the Volus really that important?"

Raxus shuts down the map and looks at her as he walks past her, "He's got info on the Spectre Scorpio's hunting down so... yes."

Seila crosses her arms and sighs in annoyance, "This is getting to be a bit much." She follows him out of the hallway and into a hanger of some sort. "Fine, but your driving, I need a nap after all that combat."

Raxus chuckles quietly as he hacks into a skycar and steps to the side, "After you."

Seila shakes her head and purposely steps on his foot as she steps inside. "Thank you."

Raxus sighs and steps around to the driver side while muttering, "Little masked vixen."

* * *

*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG* "Come on you bosh'tet!" *BANG BANG* "STAY STILL!" *BANG BANG BANG BANG...*

"MEIN! What the Keelah are you doing in here?!" Seila shouts as she practically kicks the R&amp;D department door down to see Mein trying to kill a bug with a sledgehammer.

"Get back here!" Mein runs after the large beetle and carefully sneaks up to it as it decides to hide in the corner.

Seila sighs angrily and zaps it with an overload that vaporizes the bug. "Mein, what are you doing?"

Mein kicks the ashes aside hesitantly before stomping twice on it and easily lugging her huge sledgehammer over her shoulder and walking back to an engine she was working on. "I'm working." She casually states as she starts re-wiring the small engine to an eezo core.

Seila laughs a little, "Are you seriously scared of a little beetle"

Mein glares at her, "I have a sledgehammer." She growls out.

Seila backs away slowly in fear, "A-All I wanted to say was that Scorpio wanted everyone to be on the main production floor for a meeting."

Mein bounced the hammer in her hands and continues to glare at Seila. "Tell Scorpio that if he wants his fucking gunships ready before the end of the month then he'd better stay the KEELAH OUT OF MY WORKSHOP!" Seila yelps in fear and dashes out of the room. Mein smirks and tosses the sledgehammer away before picking up the two hundred pound engine and placing it in it's housing. She holds it up with one hand while bolting it down with the other and smiles that her invention was working so well. She look down at her arms and flexes her artificial weight lifting braces happily. "This is definitely going into the vault."

She cracks her back and slides off the metallic arms before sealing up the newest T-7 gunship and walking out to see what this meeting was all about.

_I wonder if Scorpio will let me reprogram a drone to be my assistant. I could have it work on-_

Mein stops in her tracks as she sees the huge crowd of employees standing in complete attention while they watch a holo-screen at the center of the warehouse.

_What is this about? What could be so important to-_

"Mein! Have you seen Seila? Or Raxus yet? Have they returned yet?!" Tel asks adamantly for the thousandth time since Seila and Raxus went off to chase a lead on a Volus merchant.

Mein's fists clench dangerously, "No. I have not. What did I tell you I'd do if you spoke to me about that one more time?"

Tel's eyes widen at the horror she described to him half an hour before, "I-I'm sorry. So sorry. Please don't kill me!" Mein acts like she's going to punch him and he flinches before running away to hide in the crowd.

Mein laugh wickedly and turns to find the holo-screen depicting a burning spaceport.

"I repeat the Armali transport center has been bombed! Thousands are reported to be injured or dead!" She steps forward as she hears the reporter desperately try to keep composure while the screen depicts bodies burning, ships exploding, people running from unknown enemies.

_Keelah..._

She's barely aware of Scorpio standing near the holo-screen, his fists clenched tightly as he stares at the screen.

"Wait. Something is coming out of the smoke!" The screen zooms in to show mechs and Eclipse troopers swarming over the survivors, killing anyone and everyone they see. "Oh Goddess..." The reporter states in shock and horror as the camera drone filming the event is splattered by purple blood. An explosion on camera destroys the feed. The reporter stands in shock as the next report comes in. "I..." The reporter's lower lip trembles in shock, "The APC have reported multiple armies of Eclipse taking key points around the city, here's the Commissioner." The reporter bursts into tears and the image shifts to Commissioner Ceal at a podium with her right hand-dog Rila standing behind her, both of them are wearing heavy combat armor that Mein designed. "This is a tragedy that will be met with swift and decisive action! All citizens are required to stay indoors and wait for reinforces to arri-" An explosion hits the room and the camera shakes before falling to the side to show faintly the outlines of the Commissioner being dragged away by Rila. Another explosion hits and the entire wall blows apart. The camera turns to see a massive black cruiser in low orbit firing another shot off before the transmission goes to static and ends.

The entire room is silent as they all stare at the screen display 'signal lost' in multiple languages.

_What...?_

Mein stares at the screen for a moment later before looking at Scorpio to find his face stoic, a single tear falling down his cheek. "What are we going to do?" She hears herself pathetically ask him.

Scorpio look up at her with furious eyes that make her legs tremble and her heart pound faster.

"Yeah, what the fuck are we going to do?!" A worker asks off to the side. Everyone starts murmuring their discontent and Mein can see the shock and indecision in Scorpio's eyes bleed away to show a resolve that reminds her of her mother. He raises a hand and everyone shuts up instantly. Scorpio looks around the room before stating, "This is the beginning of their invasion! We need to be ready to push these assholes off of our planet!" He pauses to take a deep breath and seemingly push his tears back as his biotics flare slightly. His face solidifies again, "Mein, what is the status of our gunships?"

Mein blinks in slight shock at the pain in Scorpio's voice before quietly muttering, "We have two in stock and another almost complete in my shop."

Scorpio nods to her before turning to Ralun, head of armaments, "How are our armaments?"

Ralun crosses his arms and blinks rapidly, mentally going over their stock. "We could manufacture hundreds of rifles if need be, otherwise we are stocked up with more scrap then weapons."

"Wait... you want to help out don't you?" An Asari asks in the front. Scorpio glares at her menacingly and Mein smiles at the danger in his eyes. The Asari backs up in fear, "I'm just worried about our safety."

Scorpio sighs, "We need to find Rila and the Commissioner, we find them, we can coordinate a counterattack." Mein's stomach twists.

She opens her mouth to speak, "What about Raxus and Seila?"

Scorpio looks at her, "With all of the APC forces routed they'll need all the help they can get." He looks up as the lights flicker and the building shakes from ships flying low over their heads. "Where are they?" He asks. Everyone looks around in confusion. "Does anyone know what they are doing?" Scorpio asks adamantly.

Mein sees Tel step forward and speaks quietly, "They assaulted an Eclipse base in the south districts. They were looking into a Volus that said he knew where to find a Spectre."

"Where is this base?" Scorpio asks. Tel brings up his omni-tool and sends over the directions. Scorpio calls up a holo-map of the city and places the known Eclipse bases around the city on the map before putting Seila and Raxus' location in the heart of Eclipse territory. "Damn, their stuck in the heart of this shit."

Mein walks up, "We could get inside with Tel's tech expertise."

"We need to find her! I can do it!" Tel shouts in a brief show of confidence.

"We need to find the Spectre, or maybe the hub controlling the mechs. If we find one or the other we have a shot at stopping the Eclipse's plans." Scorpio states coldly.

Mein pauses to watch Scorpio carefully before saying, "The hub has to be within a mile of the mechs for optimum control now that comms have been knocked out." She types up a pin-point between the transport depot and the farthest Eclipse base to triangulate the position, "It looks like, wait... that's... very interesting." The center is pointed out to be the APC building at the center of Armali.

Ralun scoffs, "A mole within APC must have implanted a routing signal into the comm tower positioned on top of the building, this allows direct control of the entire city as well as a perfect way to block our communications." He states quickly.

Mein watches Scorpio flinch at 'direct control' for some reason before he says, "I had hoped this would get easier with more information."

Another Asari speaks up, "We need to contact the fleets! If we retake the communications tower we could cut through the jamming and send a message!"

Scorpio nods in agreement, "As long as we lack proper air support you can bet nothing we do is going to work. We need that tower." He points at the holo equivalent of the tower. "If the fleets don't arrive soon we're going to be pounded continuously by whatever the hell we saw in low orbit in that vid."

"Why would the Eclipse do this?" A Quarian asks in tears nearby. Mein scoffs at her.

"The overall wealth of Thessia as a whole makes it the ultimate prime target for raids, but because of the expense it would cost to go up against the entire Citadel fleet to would take billions of credits." Scorpio states plainly. He folds his hands behind him, "The Eclipse's new mechs cut the required manpower down tremendously, increasing the benefit of raiding Thessia ten-fold for a third of the cost, making it possible for a raid to actually work. Without the mechs the Eclipse can be handled with minor support."

Mein nods and freezes as the warehouse shakes from a distant explosion that was closer then she would like. "We need to move!" She shouts.

Scorpio shuts down the map and turns to everyone, "Agreed, everyone who can fight grab a weapon and split off into three teams! We're taking back Thessia." Mein salutes Scorpio out of respect before grabbing her weapons and cracking her knuckles.

_Oh this is going to be fun..._

"You six and Ralun will be in ship one." Mein looks over and sees Scorpio directing six Asari already in armor and Ralun into the first gunship.

_Huh, I never thought Scorpio had this in him._

She shakes her head and stands at attention, waiting for her orders.

"You're all going to infiltrate APC headquarters!" Scorpio states confidently to the six Asari. "Then Ralun with hack into the tower and contact the Citadel fleets to tell them what happened."

Ralun sits up, "All I'll need is time Scorpio." The Salarian engineer states happily.

Scorpio smiles from what Mein can see, "We're short on time, so I'll make more."

Mein thinks about how she has to finish the last gunship, "Scorpio! I still have to work on the third gunship, I can have myself and all of whoever stays behind work on it until it's up and running!"

He nods to her and assigns her most of the Quarians minus Tel. Mein smirks, "I'll reek havoc from the sky! My new experimental barriers are built right in." She lets loose an insane laugh of pleasure.

"I'll go find Seila!" They all turn to find Tel and an Asari in heavy armor walking up.

Scorpio nods to him and Tel does the same back, "Find her Tel, keep both of them alive and we'll radio you our position. You guys can catch up later." Mein stares at Scorpio in shock that he was letting the love-struck bosh'tet take one of her gunships.

"Thank you Scorpio, I'll make sure the bastards pay for this." Tel responds angrily, or at least moderately upset.

_Tel never gets angry, I'm actually curious what pissed Tel would look like._

Ralun clears his throat, "I could track the mech's signal back to it's origin using the tower and radio the position of the Eclipse server back to you to take it out."

Tel nods sullenly and Scorpio places a hand on his shoulder, "You'll find her Tel, I'm sure of it." Mein scoffs.

_Seila's dead, Raxus is being interrogated, and I'm about to blow up that bosh'tet if he even DARES scratch the paint on my baby!_

"Agreed. We meet up at the APC building in two hours if we haven't already died in intense combat." Scorpio declares with a strange happiness. "Any questions?" He looks over the crowd and sees no one raising their hand.

_How could they? He just gave them the best chance at fighting back!_

"Good, then lets move." Scorpio steps aside so everyone can get back to their tasks.

Mein wades through the crowd to grab Scorpio's arm as he steps inside the first gunship, "Do you really think we can win this?" She asks with more worry then she wants to admit.

Scorpio looks at her strangely, "I once knew someone that was asked that exact same question, his answer was, 'I don't intend to lose if that's what your asking' We can win this Mein. We have to." He pulls his arm away from her and walks into the gunship as the door closes. Mein blinks at the fact he never chose a pilot before raising her eyebrows in shock as the gunship starts up and the hanger bay doors open to show Armali burning. The T-7 gunship turns abruptly before kicking the thrusters and scraping a wing on the still opening door before bolting out and into the war-zone, ready to reek hell on it's unsuspecting targets.

_I hope to the ancestors that he doesn't get himself killed before I kick his ass. That was a perfect paint job!_

Mein sighs angrily before looking off into the distance to find the burning neon sign of the APC building blinking out.

_Lets hope this works._

* * *

(4 hours to go)

Saren's sharp hearing finds another pound in the air pressure, he heard that explosion.

_Sounds like a good fight, Nihlus had better be winning or I'm going to throw him into the first star between here and the Citadel._

"Just through here man." Saren nods and the door in front of them opens to show an underground warehouse filled with mechs and large crates.

_Oh... this just took a turn for the worst._

The building shakes from a well-placed explosion and Saren notices no-one but him seems to have noticed.

_Why aren't these people panicking?_

He walks into the crowd, counting the amount of enemies and their armaments. His eyes find a grate behind a crate and he carefully steps over to it to lean against the wall.

_This is my escape route, but I'll need a weapon or I'm not going to last for two seconds in a real fight._

He eyes an Asari walking by and her full armaments. He swipes her pistol and places it on his hip as she walks away without noticing her lost weapon.

_That was extremely easy._

He checks that no-one is watching and pries open the grate before crawling inside. He pulls the grate back into place and starts crawling up the slight incline in the vent.

_This had better be an invasion or I'm reporting Nihlus to the Council as the incompetent fool he is._

Saren growls as he turns another corner and sees nothing but more darkness.

_How big could this place be?_

He reluctantly crawls on, determined to get the hell out of this vent. Around another corner he sighs in relief that a grate is at the end of the vent.

_Finally!_

He rushes forward and up to it to look through in surprise at what he sees.

Metal flecks flying through the smoke filled air, people screaming, mechs advancing, "Hold the line! We can't llet them take another floor!"  
Saren doesn't recognize the Asari, but he recognizes the label on her armor.

_Armali Police Center._

His eyes widen as he realizes he's still on Thessia.

_Spirits I hate Thessia._

He sits quietly as he watches the overwhelming waves of mechs slaughter the APC officers with relative ease. He grins at their incompetence before noticing that the only bodies on the ground were APC.

_I don't want to save the tentacle heads, I'd rather let them get wiped out._

He waits for the room to clear out before removing the grate and stepping out into the wrecked office floor. He smiles.

_Maybe this will take them down a notch._

He kneels down to search the first officer and takes the credits he finds along with the rifle she has on her. He turns over her mangled body and grins as he spots her intact bio-amp.

_Perfect._

He takes his metal claws up to the back of her head and cuts the metal plug right out of her skull. He strips off the flesh and wires connected to the amp and plugs it into his amp slot to shiver at the familiar feeling of his biotics charging.

_A Savant amp, just my luck._

He test his biotics by throwing a desk out the window next to him and grins at the increased power to his abilities. He looks out the window and freezes as his ears pick up the horror of war echoing through the streets. Saren growls out in pure anger, the Eclipse were going to pay for making his day even worse. "Freeze!" He turns slowly to find two mechs and an Eclipse trooper aiming at him.

_Excellent._

He grabs at the two mechs with a pull and slams them into the sides of the trooper, disorientating her long enough for him to dash forward and tear her throat out. He tosses the mechs through a thin wall bioticly before releasing the Asari from his grasp to die at his feet.

_Lets see what my rage can do from four months of captivity._

He arms himself with the rifle and calmly walks out of the destroyed conference room, ready for a hell of a fight that's no doubt right in front of him.

* * *

A black and red gunship cuts through the empty air of Armali's skyway, rushing at tremendous speeds towards it's destination. It passes a bomber as it makes its run and the small fighter turns to engage.

"SHIT!" I yell as LIA jerks the gunship to the side to dodge a missile.

"Hang on everyone." LIA states calmly. The gunship drops down under another missile as my hands grab onto the first control they find, luckily they find the turret controls and spins it up to fire a spray of mass accelerator slugs into the fighter's left wing, forcing it down out of pure luck.

I stare in shock at the monitor as the bomber explodes on contact with the nearest building. "Nice shooting sir!" My ears barely hear an Asari call out from behind me in the passenger bay.

"T-Thanks!" I shout back in shock.

_God, this is turning into an ordeal._

I turn the turret around to scan the streets and cringe as I find them filling up with bodies.

_This is hell..._

"Arriving at the APC center." I turn the turret around as LIA reports.

_Son of a bitch!_

"Executing evasive maneuvers!" The gunship dives around the assault fire from a YMIR mech planted right on the roof of the building.

I grit my teeth and grab onto my seat as the gunship lowers out of the mech's sights.

_*sigh* That was close._

"What's happening up there?!" I stand and jump back into the passenger bay to sit down with my team.

"There's a fucking heavy mech on the roof!" I shout angrily. Ralun blinks in surprise and the Asari look at each other with worry. I lower my head in deep thought, I had a plan, but it wasn't something I wanted to even attempt for a few more years. "Fuck it! LIA Bring us up! Ralun get on that turret! Everyone brace yourselves!" I jump up and hit the release for the cargo bay door as the gunship raises up and continues to dodge the rockets and assault fire of the YMIR mech.

"What the hell are you doing sir?!" I don't look behind me, I can't rethink this. I dash forward and jump out of the gunship while grabbing myself bioticly like Aethyta taught me and launching myself forward while decelerating my decent enough to avoid breaking my limbs. I smirk as it works and dive forwards at the last second to roll onto the roof. My head hits the ground first and I growl in pain as I roll into an air vent. "Oh..."

*WHIRL*

My muscles tense up and I quickly roll out out the way of the assault fire and off the edge of the building. "Fuck!" I barely catch myself on the edge with my left hand and pant as my heart threatens to beat out of my chest. I look down.

_HOLY MOTHER OF A VARREN!_

I shut my eyes tight as I see I'm at least two hundred feet off the ground.

_Let the fear of dying strengthen your resolve._

Aethyta's word encourage me to swing my right arm around and pull myself up to see a rocket barely miss the still dodging gunship. I stand up and arm myself with my rifle, "HEY!" The mech turns around as I fire a shot into it's shields, nearly breaking my shoulder. "FUCK!" The mech fires a missile in retaliation and I quickly throw up a Biotic Dome to block it. The incendiary liquid burns a trail around the dome and I force myself to ignore the searing in my spine from the exertion.

I notice some turret fire tear into the shields of the mech, distracting it long enough for me to close my eyes and feel my rage boiling to the surface again. I let it over-take me like Aethyta told me and I feel my adrenaline spike. "RAA!" I hear my own battle cry as my right hand reaches out to blast a flare of biotic energy into the mech, staggering it back a few meters. I'm barely aware of my own actions as I run forwards and bioticly jump up to slam into the mech, pushing it back another two meters while I flip backwards and barely land on my own feet.

"DER HES XEKE!" My entire body tingles with energy as I reach out and watch myself blast a wave of biotic energy into the mech, throwing it back and off the edge of the building. I fall to my knees panting from the pure fire burning up my spine. I gasp out in pain for a moment while my adrenaline ends and I hear a distant explosion below me, signaling the mech's death.

_Son of a bitch._

Sitting back against an air vent I wipe the sweat from my brow and laugh. "God damn that was awesome." I close my eyes and just relax for a moment while the gunship lands to drop off my squad. I open my eyes as I hear footsteps moving across the rooftop to see the only Asari in heavy armor stomping forward in anger. I stand up- "GAH!" and take a fist to the helmet.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" The Asari yells out.

I rub my pounding head through my helmet, "We needed to land and I saw only one way to do that."

The Asari sighs angrily, "If you die before kicking these fuckers off of Thessia I'll personally bring you back from the dead to kick your ass!"

I cringe, "Sorry." I apologize sincerely.

_That WAS pretty dangerous._

I shake my head and adopt a stoic look, "Ralun you, Tiala and Yerna hack into that tower, the rest of us will secure the building." The three of them nod and run off towards a large tower mounted in the corner of the rooftop.

"Come on." I pick up my sniper rifle from where I dropped it and run forward towards the only door I see. I stack up on the left as the Asari leader in heavy armor stacks on the right. I nod in slight surprise by the very militaristic way we were handling the situation before another Asari hits the panel, opening the door. I rush inside while building up a strong barrier.

"Freeze!" I quickly stop and watch as a dozen rifles aim at my team while we fill the small space.

"APC! We're here to help!" I shout without lowering my rifle as I spot the three officers aiming at me directly were smirking.

_Oh great, more crazies._

"We destroyed the heavy mech!" I report while gripping my rifle tighter.

_No way I'm dying here._

"Scorpio?!" I shift my sight to the back of the crowd at the familiar voice.

"Rila?" I ask in shock as I spot her.

She runs forward as I lower my helmet and at seeing it's me she raises her arms, "Stand down! He's an ally!" All but three officers, the ones aiming at me, lower their weapons.

"Rila, you know this Human?" One of the three ask with pure malice.

"Yeah, stand down, he's a good friend." Rila states calmly.

"HE'S A TERRORIST!" Another calls out angrily. I don't lower my rifle as I glare at the three Asari. I spot something dark and fearful in each of their eyes and something clicks in my mind.

_Oh crap._

"It looks like there's still some corrupt lackeys within the APC." I growl out as I start up the accelerator and get ready to fire. All their eyes widen as Rila reaches for her pistol.

"Eclipse forever!" I reach out and surround the three with a thick Biotic Dome. I watch in horror as their rifle fire reflects around in the small confined bubble, tearing them apart and turning the interior of the dome purple with blood.

The last shot stops inside. "Oh, fuck." I carefully lift the ball of flesh and blood up and off the floor before turning around and walking towards the door to the roof, "I'll... just toss this outside and we can give our introductions." I state in disgust while lifting the ball outside. Everyone just stares at me in shock. I take a deep breath and bioticly toss the bubble off the roof. It bursts a second later, raining a shower of gore down towards the streets of Armali. "That is seriously disgusting." I heave once before swallowing down my breakfast and shaking my head in relief the I didn't have to touch the bodies. I grimace as I see the mechs and Eclipse below in the streets barely care for the gore raining down onto them. "This isn't war, it's slaughter." I comment quietly as I count the amount of dead piled along the sides of the streets below. An Asari next to me nods in agreement as I turn to walk back inside.

_This can't end well... so many dead, so many suffering. This can't end soon enough._

I walk sullenly up to Rila as she orders two officers to do something I don't catch. "Rila." I greet.

She turns and smiles painfully, "Hey, our forces were routed immediately with the first explosion." She waves for me to follow her and I ignore her disregard for stating the obvious, we were screwed. We walk through the calm command center as officers carry each-other either to a medical room or back to the front lines.

_Its been only two hours and so many are already dead... the Eclipse are going to pay for this._

I stop as I spot a familiar face in the make-shift medical wing/conference room. "Jeilus?"

She ignores me, "Sedative." Her assistant, a Salarian, hands her a syringe and then proceeds to hold the kicking officer down while she stabs it into the Asari's neck. "Sh sh sh... there we go." The Asari passes out. "I wonder if all Asari in this place are this stubborn or is it just the officers."

"Hey, Jeilus." I greet while holding back a small laugh.

She looks up, "Scorpio, I see you were too stubborn to keep your head down when shit hit the fan. Good. We need everyone strong to fight in this war." She scans the Asari's bleeding leg once before applying medigel. "I was the only one insane enough to wade into the mechs and fight here to support these poor fuckers, well... me and Grelin over here." I wave in shock at Grelin and he smirks at me before going back to stacking up bottles of organs he probably 'requisitioned' from the dead.

I shake my head, "How bad is it?" I ask worriedly.

Jeilus sighs, "I had to requisition this office after the Commissioner committed suicide and Rila took over, other then that it's been nothing but sunshine and rainbows." She punches the broken leg of the Asari back into place, filling the room with a sickening crack.

"AH!" The pain breaks the Asari out of her sedative and Jeilus covers her mouth with a rag to muffle the screams. I look at the Asari with pity.

_This shouldn't have happened._

"We ran out of pain killers pretty quickly." She states calmly while bracing the leg with two pieces of metal and tying it down.

I swallow, "Is there anything I can help out with?" I ask quietly.

She smirks at me, "I've never fucked a Human before."

I face-palm, "I meant the patients, but thanks for that."

She shakes her head sadly, "I can barely keep up with all of the dead piling up around here." Her eyes gain a fury I've never seen in her before, "Kill every one of those Eclipse bastards and I'll make it a personal favor to me. In fact if you kill every Eclipse member you see in your lifetime I'd gladly die happy right now."

I sigh, "I'm inclined to agree with you if this gets any worse." The entire building shakes as a low rumbling sounds outside.

The door behind me opens up to Rila rushing in, "They're bombarding the building!"

I rush past her in a panic and run up and out to the roof to look around. "Holy shi-" *BOOM* My barrier takes a massive hit as a stray shot impacts the rooftop not eight feet from me, shearing a huge chunk of the metal and concrete right off the building. I stare up as the dust clears to see a massive ship in low orbit. "My god..."

A flash of light comes from the side of the ship and I cover my head as the shot barely misses the building to slam into a skycraper to my left. *BOOM* Debris and fire flies away from the building and it crumbles, the entire top half of the swooping structure falling off in slow motion. I watch in horror as I see people falling out of the building and close my eyes right before the massive chunk of debris flattens two other buildings beside it.

_This is insane..._

"GET DOWN!" Rila shouts. We all hit the deck as three fighters fly overhead. I follow them with my eyes and watch as they bombard another trio of buildings nearby, igniting an entire block into an inferno. I block out my own perception for a moment, keeping myself from realizing that I just watched maybe a thousand people die in front of me. I take in a deep breath and focus myself on my small squad, no-one's dead, no-one's injured, we're fine. I let the breath out and turn around to look back at the ship.

_Ok, time for my analytical mind to play its part._

Folding my helmet back up I zoom in and scan the ship visually, the sharp edges, ugly carapace, side-mounted duel cannons.

_It's a cruiser of some sort._

"Oh Goddess... they have a Batarian Hensa-class Cruiser?!" I turn around and jump as the Asari's eye fills my vision.

_GAH!  
_

I tone the zoom back and look at Rila in surprise, "How do you know that?" I ask.

She blinks at me before looking at the cruiser and frowning, "My mother asked me to keep informed about current situations on the galactic scale. The Batarians are about ten years out from decommissioning the Hensa Cruiser due to the cost to maintain a ship that size. It has no automated processes other than emergency power, so it houses about three thousand a ship. Not including drop parties or armaments. They must be idiots to pull it into such a low orbit, at this altitude they only need one slight shift in gravity and the entire damn thing will collapse into the planet!"

I think for a moment, running over something that could cause such a disturbance, "Wait, what about a ground to air cannon?"

Rila looks back to me before smiling, "That's brilliant! I'd have to look it up but I think there's an old decommissioned facility in the south districts that was built during the Krogan Rebellions. Come on!" I run after her as she dashes back into the building.

_How did I think of that?_

_Because you are not human..._

I freeze in place as the soft voice echoes in my head.

_What was that about?_

I shake my head and run up to Rila as she walks into a large office. I jump as I see Commissioner Ceal's body laying against the back wall missing half her head. "Fuck!"

Rila looks over from typing at Ceal's terminal, "Oh, yeah, she died in an explosion. A piece of a desk impaled her while she just stood there, really sad." She shakes her head before looking back to the terminal. I shiver in disgust and look away from the body.

_This isn't cannon! This isn't supposed to happen! Why is this happening?! Is- is it because of me? Did I do this?_

I look back at the body and feel tears welling up in my eyes.

_This is MY fault... I kicked the Blue Suns off of Thessia, I got those store owners killed, Neril, Cynthia, all these innocent people..._

I lower my head in despair.

_All because I'm here? Now there's going to be a galactic war if I don't fix this. The Eclipse won't stop if they succeed here, they'll become more bold and all hell will break loose._

"Scorpio?"

_This is all my fault, I can't go on like this, making so many mistakes-_

"Scorpio?"

_I'm-_

"Dylan?!" I open my tear-filled eyes to see Rilana staring at me with absolute concern. I see her realize how close I am to breaking and she steps forward to wrap her arms around me. I clench my fists in agony and just breath out my frustration as she holds me.

"I'm so sorry." I choke out.

"It's not your fault, none of this is." She whispers comfortingly. I shake my head in disbelief. "Hey, hey shh..." She pulls back to look me in the eyes and I have to look away, I don't deserve her pity. "Look at me." She pulls my face back around, "You did not do this, the Eclipse did this. You are not to blame." Her sweet voice comforts me and I sniffle as I re-gain my composure.

"Sorry, this is all a lot to deal with." She simply nods in understanding like always and walks back to the terminal. I take one last glance at the dead Commissioner and grimace at the blood, flesh and cracked skull laying off to the side.

_God that's disgusting._

"Here! I found it!" Rila exclaims while I wipe my eyes on my sleeve and walk over.

"What did you find?" I ask as I look around to find what looks like a massive tilted isosceles triangle connected to a large platform and warehouse.

"This is-" A low rumbling interrupts her and we both look at the ceiling. "That didn't sound good."

_I nod in agreement._

*BOOM!* The entire room cracks apart in an instant, glass, metal and plastic flying in all directions. Time slows down as I watch the entire floor under Rila crumble. "RILA!" I dive to the floor and catch her by the armor just as the entire back half of the room falls away with half the building. "Hold on!" I shout over the sharp screams the unlucky APC officers call out as they fall to their deaths.

_Come on, come on!_

I groan from the strain on my arm as I lift Rila back onto solid ground. "Fuck." I gasp as I look out the wide open area where the back of the office used to be.

"Goddess..." In the distance we see the Cruiser slowly turning to fire another round. I get to my feet and help Rila up, both of us covered in scorch marks from the intense heat released when the mass accelerated round slammed into the building.

"We need to evacuate." I comment bluntly. Rila only nods in agreement and we run through the cracked doorway to try and find the survivors.

"Sco-pio!" My communicator blares to life.

"Copy?" I shout back as we stop in a deserted hallway.

"Ge- th- -oof *static*"

"I'm coming!" I barely made out 'roof', so Rila and I run up the stairs to the top level and walk out into the open area in shock. The entire top floor was gone. I spot one of my employees and run over. "Tiala!" I shout as I roll her over to find she, that she- "No..." I close my eyes in shock and feel Rila place a hand on my shoulder.

"We have to go Dylan, they're all dead." I shake my head.

My people, my employees... Ralun, Tiala, Yerna...

I clench my teeth as my Biotic Rage starts to build up, I force it down, no need to add myself to that list, not while the Eclipse still control Armali.

"We have to go, now!" Rila pulls be to my feet and I realize that the communications tower was gone, but the mechs below us weren't shutting down.

"It's inside." I mutter as Rila drags me down the staircase.

"What?" She asks in confusion.

I yank my arm from her, "THE FUCKING TRANSMITTER IS INSIDE!" I scream. She stares at me in fear. "Those fuckers!" I bioticly punch the wall, denting it.

_Why? Why does this keep happening to me?!_

"We need to go." Rila grabs my arm and continues to drag me through the halls as I think over what we could do.

_The ship is still there, nothing else to do while it's still bombarding us. The anti-air cannons could work, maybe a forced assault into the facility? No, the place is hundreds of years old, it wouldn't even fire properly, but we only need one shot to take that thing down. I still have the gunships, Tel, Raxus, Seila, Mein's team, whatever is left of the APC forces, Rila..._

I stop thinking as I notice Jeilus stabilizing a few officers in her conference room. "Jeilus? Your still alive?" I ask in shock since this was the only intact room in this half of the building.

She shrugs, "Whatever, I'm leaving as soon as these officers are properly treated, this is getting too hazardous for my health!" Grelin nods in agreement as he finishes applying medigel to another officer's bleeding side.

"Are there any more survivors?" Rila asks desperately.

Jeilus scoffs, "In the lower floors, maybe. Not here though, too many explosions. I'm actually surprised this place hasn't collapsed yet." I nod in agreement, this building could take a fuck-ton of punishment.

"We need all the help we can get. I'll call in a gunship and you need to load as many people as you can onto it! WE ARE LEAVING!" I exclaim confidently.

Jeilus smiles, "Damn, I knew you had a plan."

Rila looks at me worriedly, "You have another plan? So quickly?"

I shrug, "It's essentially the same as before. Round up some help, assault the anti-air cannon, get it up and running to take one shot, don't miss the shot, buy us some time to stop the Eclipse's plans or for the Council to realize it when one of their homeworlds goes dark for no fucking reason what-so-ever."

Rila nods and smiles at me, "Damn, I thought you'd broken down and I'd have to carry your sorry ass through the fire."

I laugh, "I'm good, thanks. I think if I don't stop I'll be fine." I state hopefully.

_If this invasion doesn't make me go insane then nothing will, well... maybe the Reapers... but nothing else._

* * *

Saren throws the twentieth wave of mechs out the open wall and quickly rushes up the stairs to the next floor.

_This is becoming a hassle._

He claws out an Asari's heart and uses the body as a shield against the ten mechs on this floor. He fires his pistol, blasting the head off of one in the center, it explodes and knocks the others back. Saren tosses the corpse away and draws his rifle to finish them off when a red dot hits hit metal arm and he looks up to find a line of twenty APC officers aiming their firearms at him. "Freeze!" One officer on the left yells. He growls in agitation.

_I don't have time for this shit!_

Bioticly, he tosses them aside and stomps past them and up to an elevator. "Weak Asari." the door opens and Saren aims his pistol at the black figure as it arms itself with a bulky assault rifle. "Under Spectre authority I order you to stand down!" He shouts.

The completely black figure pulls back in shock for a second before Saren sees the person's helmet fold back and into their collar. Saren growls dangerously. "Human." He growls out menacingly.

The Human clicks the safety off the Assault rifle, "Back off!" He hears the Human growl out.

Saren grins, "It is amusing that a HUMAN would ever DARE to order around a Spectre.

"My name is Scorpio, I was hired by a Spectre recruit named Nihlus to locate Saren Arterius for a rescue mission." The Human states quickly, not flinching.

Saren blinks twice and watches the Human in shock for a moment, he doesn't smell betrayal on him, not fear, not even rage. Saren tightens his grip on his pistol.

_This Human is dominated by determination, and I can FEEL the pure biotic power this Human has within him. It's radiating off of him in waves._

Saren immediately uses his metal arm that's behind his back to call up his omni-tool and ready a dampening charge.

_I'm going to kill this scrawny pathetic Human and find out what's happening on Thessia afterwards._

"You are strange Human, you command order like a Turian, like Myself, yet you are not arrogant. You use that power to better others and I feel generous today so I'll make a deal with you." Saren states plainly. He watches for a reaction and doesn't see any difference in the Human. "You let me pass and I won't rip off your head." Saren growls to show he's serious.

"HAHAHA!" He frowns as the Human laughs. "I have no inclination to hurt, nor delay you Saren, I simply wish a peace between us for the betterment of the situation. I have the only ride off this building before it collapses, as well as information about what's happening. Might we agree to fight together for the time being?"

Saren nearly flinches at the clipped, perfect speech pattern. He watches the Human and sees that he's serious, calm, and collected, almost frighteningly so. Saren sighs and lowers his pistol before nodding once. He was starting to like this Human. The Human holsters his rifle and nods before stepping out of the elevator and signaling for the officers to stand down. Saren turns around and sees twenty firearms aimed directly at his head.

_Well played Scorpio, well played._

He turns off his omni-tool and frowns as the building rocks slightly, the lights flickering above them.

_I'm surprised this place still has power, normally that's the first thing someone hits in these types of situations. They must have back-ups underground._

He steps into the elevator with the Human and asks, "What's the situation?"

The Human looks at Saren strangely, "How about you tell me where the fuck you've been? I have teams scrambling to find you as we speak and you just pop out of no-where in mercenary armor?"

Saren growls, "Don't push my hospitality Scorpio, and how did you know it was me?"

The Human points to his metal claws poking through his left glove, "It's really hard to miss the artificial limb Saren." Saren rolls his eyes. "Anyways, I'm Dylan David Scorpio, local business owner, AAH student, and the impromptu general leading the counter-attack ground-side."

Saren stares at him as if he was a dancing Elcor spouting Vorcha poetry before saying, "Spirits... things must be nightmarish if they put a HUMAN in charge."

Scorpio ignore his rude remark, "The Eclipse have come in full force and have an estimated ten thousand mechs on the ground. Another eight thousand are averaged in just Eclipse operatives alone. Not to mention the hijacked Batarian Cruiser they have in low orbit that's been bombarding the city for hours now. We have no idea where they got it and we can't be sure it's the only one up there since they knocked out the communications tower."

Saren stares at Scorpio in shock, he'd never seen the Eclipse work towards such an organized assault before, there had to be an instigator that pushed for this.

_It's an all-out war, and the ground zero is the Asari Homeworld. This is bad._

The elevator stops and they walk out, Saren notices the bodies and wounded scattered around and asks, "Do we have any way of contacting the fleets?"

Scorpio shakes his head, "No, that's the problem." They walk through the collapsing and bloody halls. "Just ten minutes ago the Cruiser took a shot at the building and ripped the entire top floor off, including the tower, I lost three good friends up there." Saren can sense the pain it causes Scorpio as he says the words and he's surprised that he almost feels sorry for the Human.

_He was thrown out of a normal life and into a battleground where anyone could die at any second. Hmph, reminds me of some Spectres I know._

He shakes his head clear.

_HUMANS ARE NEVER GOING TO BECOME SPECTRES!_

"Jeilus get your ass on the gunship already!" Scorpio yells into a conference room where an Asari that seems very close to the Matriarch stage is packing up some medical equipment.

"Unless you bow the fuck down and offer to suck me off I can't move any faster!" The Matriarch shouts back. Saren blinks at the extremely weird Matriarch in shock.

_This Human has an Asari Matriarch under his thumb? I might have underestimated his abilities._

"Just hurry up!" Scorpio shouts. Saren continues to follow him through the halls and up a flight of stairs until they get to the roof.

"Spirits..." Saren stares at the obvious Batarian Cruiser in low orbit in shock. He looks over the entire burning city and frowns. "All this... destruction... what's the point? What do the Eclipse want?" He mutters angrily while eying all the troopers and mechs roaming the streets.

"Well I can't tell you that, but I can say that they started a war, and I'm inclined to give it to them." Scorpio growls out beside him.

Saren nods, "You are all lucky that the captain of that vessel knows about his ships capabilities to a certain degree, at this altitude they are unable to fire more than once every ten minutes without dropping from orbit." A gunship arrives behind them and lands, prompting Saren to arm himself before he realizes that it was for the wounded and holstering his rifle. "What's the plan?" He asks while looking back to the Cruiser.

Scorpio stares at him for a moment, "Myself and a squad of the remai-" He stops and looks up to see an incoming gunship. "GUNSHIP!" He and Saren dive into cover as it hovers for a second and five Asari Commandos drop out of it. Scorpio stands after seeing them and runs over, "Damn it's good to see you! What the hell are you guys doing here?" He exclaims in shock while Saren keeps his rifle trained on the Commandos.

The lead Commando bows respectfully, "Matriarch Benesia has sent us away from her estate against our wishes and the wishes of High Priestess Ardania. We are required in times of crisis to assist."

Scorpio smirks, "This is absolutely wonderful! We have a plan to take out that Cruiser in low orbit as well as take out a transmitter under the building but we needed more people to get both done."

Saren's eye-plates rise in surprise, "I was held under this building and know a way through the ducts to the main facility. I'll take a team down there and secure the transmitter." He states plainly.

Scorpio nods, "Good, take the remaining APC officers and Rila down there while Benesia's Commando's and I take that AA gun and blow that fucking monstrosity out of the sky." He waves his hand angrily towards the Cruiser and everyone nods in agreement. Saren smirks at the leadership skills this Human has.

_Perhaps he'll survive long enough for me to blame all of this on him after all. Someone has to take the blame and I'm inclined to have it either be him or Nihlus, that incompetent cloaca._

Saren nods and storms off back into the building to locate the rest of the APC officers and get this day over with already. "May the Spirits watch over you Saren."

He freezes at the doorway and turns around to nod to Scorpio in surprise, "May your own gods watch over you as well Scorpio." He replies sincerely. Saren takes one last look at the Cruiser as it fires another shot that misses them entirely.

_We need as many gods' favor as we can get._

He turns and runs down the steps two at a time, ready to kick the Eclipse back to the Terminus Systems forever.

* * *

A/N :) You enjoying it yet?


	18. Ongoing Crisis

A/N Read, Review, and Enjoy the madness!

* * *

(3 hours left)

Rila lifts her fist up to signal the team into cover as they approach another wave of mechs. She looks over to see Saren throwing up a Barrier on command to block the incoming hail of fire being thrown at them. They all wait for the mechs to overheat their weapons before Saren drops the Barrier curtain and they return as much fire as they received, tearing the mechs apart.

Rila sighs, this was the eighth floor they'd cleared and she still couldn't get what Scorpio said to her out of her head.

* * *

She watches as Scorpio turns from watching the Spectre leave to step into the Asari Commando's gunship. She feels herself panic and jumps up to grab his arm before pulling him around and into a tight hug.

_It feels like I'm losing him for good._

She holds her breath to try and belay any confession of love that sat on the tip of her tongue. She feels Scorpio pat her gently on the back and she pulls back in tears.

"It's going to be alright." He claims.

She shakes her head, she knew he was lying, she always knew. She looks into his dark brown eyes and sees the terror there, the sadness, the guilt. It makes her heart want to break apart. He sees her reaction and turns away, ashamed.

Rila cups his cheek silently and pulls him back so she can smile at him sadly, "Ever since the moment I met you, I knew you were a great person. You risked your life to save a little Asari child without a second thought."

He shakes his head, "No, I'm not. I've killed people, I've purposely abandoned innocents, I-"

She cuts him off, "That's bull shit and you know it. Evil doesn't worry about not being good. You are a great man Dylan and nothing is going to change that!" She feels her tears break free and roll down her cheeks.

He smile at her and catches them with his gloved thumb. She shivers at the contact.

_Maybe everything will be alright._

His hand leaves her and she loses the hope that he'd survive with it. He smiles worriedly at her before turning away.

_NO!_

She panics and spins him around and into her lips, she slams her eyes shut, just trying to enjoy his soft lips as they meet her own. She pushes into his with all the passion and love she could manage at a moment's notice, but he doesn't push back.

_He..._

She starts to feel her tears return before she finally feels him force his own back against her's with intense power and ferocity, it overwhelms her. It was so perfect that for a moment she believes nothing could ever break them apart. Then they separate and she pants as her heart beats rapidly from the heat of the moment. She opens her eyes to see him staring at her with admiration, happiness, and confusion. She hugs him one last time, "You had better stay alive because I love you." She listens to herself whisper it in his ear and freezes up, just as he does.

Scorpio pulls away and whispers, "Time will tell if I feel the same for you my friend."

Rila frowns, feeling rejected to a certain degree before seeing Scorpio's smile and finally feeling her panic lift.

_He was going to be alright, we all are._

* * *

"RILA GET YOUR HEAD DOWN!" She feels Saren grab her and pull her into cover just as a rocket flies over her head. She shakes herself out of her daze.

_I'll get Dylan's real answer when all this is over._

She fires a burst of assault fire, killing a weakly shielded trooper instantly. She smiles at the upgraded tech Scorpio provided for them, built in phasic rounds. She sees another trooper take a warp to the chest and she detonates it with a quick throw, blasting the trooper into a shower of gore that takes out two other trooper's shields, letting Rila's burst fire take care of them. She ducks as more mechs arrive on the scene.

_It's ironic that the mechs are more difficult to kill then the Eclipse troopers._

Saren takes three bullets to the shoulder before getting back into cover and shrugging the injury off to throw a warp and detonate a floating mech, ripping apart the armor of the other five around it. Rila shakes her head at his resilience.

_Reminds me of Scorpio._

She leans out of cover with her rifle to blast off two mech's heads and throw a singularity into the crowd. It catches the remaining three around the strong gravity well. She clenches her fist and tosses a warp, detonating all three at once, tearing them apart with ease.

"Clear!" Saren calls.

She and her twelve APC officers stand out of cover and move up through the abandoned floor in waves of four. "This is getting pretty tiresome, where's that vent you were talking about?" She asks Saren tiredly, she needed a rest.

He ignores her.

"Hey! I'm-" He raises a claw to silence her. Her ears pick up on a rough pounding nearby.

"Fuck." Saren growls and an explosion kills four officers instantly, "GET TO COVER!"

Rila jumps back with the last eight and run to get back to cover.

"Ah!" Two more officers are peppered by machine-gun fire before they can get back to cover.

"Shit!" Rila yells as she sees the YMIR mech round the corner, it's large cylinder head glaring angrily at her. She ducks, "Stay down." Her officers stay down happily, in favor of living past this fight.

_This is not going to go well._

She waits for the mech to overheat before ordering her officers to blast overloads. All seven of them fire at the mech's shields and they fall.

_YES!_

The mech stomps twice before launching a rocket.

_NO!_

Rila's eyes sharpen as she makes a split-second decision and runs forward to block the missile bioticly before hiding behind a metal table nearer to the mech. She looks back to see Saren actually shaking in fear.

_What the hell?_

"WARP!"

Seven warps hit the mech instantly, "SAREN!"

Saren jumps at her voice before hopping up and blasting a shockwave at the mech, detonating the biotics before ducking under another missile.

_Son of a Vorcha!_

Rila sees her officers held down by the chain gun and makes another probably stupid decision. "GRENADES!"

She rushes out of cover and peppers the Titan from behind to catch its attention long enough for them to obey her directive. Six grenades spin through the air and land on the back of the YMIR mech as it turns. Rila dives behind a desk, "NOW!"

*KABOOM!*

Shrapnel pierces the desk she's hiding behind, almost getting past her barrier. Rila stands as the smoke clears, the mech was obliterated, they had won, but the cost was too high. "We have to be more alert." She pants out before cracking her neck and signaling them to move up.

She looks over to Saren as he stands up in shock. She catches an apologetic look from him for a microsecond as he sees they lost half of their forces.

_War is hell... I just hope enough people survive to talk about the victory._

* * *

I hold my head low as I contemplate what the hell Rila's second kiss meant.

_Does she really have feelings for me? Or is she infatuated by Scorpio? What does this mean?_

I shake my head, this wa- Something flashes in my eyes and I find myself shutting my eyes on impulse.

When I open them again I find myself laying in a field, green plants alien to me flowing in the breeze, the sunlight pouring down from the clear blue sky. I stand up in confusion and turn around at the sound of lightning. I'm standing in the center of a street, bodies piling up while the survivors tear each-other apart for scraps, a world in chaos. The streetlights go out and I'm left in darkness.

_What is this?_

Something ignites in the distant, a fire, purple and blue dancing, illuminating the chaos surrounding me, everyone is dead or about to be. Hundreds of thousands of souls scream at me in agony and I feel tears start to build in my eyes. "What is this?!" I call out in shock from the horror of the scene. My head spins and I fall onto my butt, but I'm sitting back in the field. I look around and I see ruins, Prothean ruins. Then a fire rages across the field of green, scorching everything, burning an unstoppable path towards me. I stand up and run, I run as fast as I can towards the nearest ruin and dive inside as the flames die at he doorway.

I pant in shock from the adrenaline pumping through my veins. "What the hell was that?" I ask the darkness around me, the smell of ash and soot burning my nostrils. I cover my face with my sleeve so I can breath and something lights up behind me. I turn around and find the black book sitting on a pedestal in the center of the room. "Another trial?" I hear myself mutter while walking forward and up to the podium. I check that the first symbol is still lit and gasp as I see the second scorched with a blue flame. I gulp before tracing it like I did to the first before. I grimace as the symbol ignites and sears into my finger tip as I trace it. "Ah! CORT! AH!" I rip my hand away from the book and stagger back and onto a bench of some kind. I close my eyes and whisper it's meaning. "Chaos."

"What Scorpio?" I open my eyes and I'm back in the gunship, sitting across from Benesia's head of security. I rub the side of my head at the headache I feel.

_What the hell just happened?_

"Nothing, nothing" I mutter while remembering the new symbol and word.

_Well... I already know what will turn to chaos so it's a bit late on that._

"You know you aren't to blame for all of this right?" I look up in surprise at the Commando sitting next to me. "We are soldiers in a war, you aren't allowed to blame yourself for it because you chose to fight in it." I shake my head.

"She's right, you aren't to blame for the actions of others, even if you have a big role in what happened." Another states comfortingly.

I frown at them, "I started this war, I'm to blame, I am the sole person that started it!" I shout angrily.

"Why?" The Leader asks.

I look at her angrily before sighing, "I blew up a Blue Sons depot a few months back, that created a vacuum of power that gave control of the planet's blackmarket to the Eclipse. This coupled with an outside source of influence caused them to believe they could raid Thessia properly. I started it." She stares at me in surprise and I lower my head sadly.

"No... you're not."

I look up at her and scowl. "Yes. I. AM." I growl out.

She scoffs, "Why do you blame yourself for the actions taken by others? You couldn't have known this would have happened."

I let my thoughts go over every time I thought about my actions months ago, "No, I knew long before the first bomb detonated. I knew it would happen I just didn't make the connections until recently."

She shakes her head, "Goddess, you're stubborn. Explains how you're still alive. Why do you always blame yourself? And don't give me a bullshit answer."

My left eye twitches in annoyance, but I answer it anyways, "If I blame myself for what happened I can learn from it. If I ignore it then nothing happens but a bunch of people dying for no reason what-so-ever."

She shakes her head and sighs in exasperation, "Goddess your insane."

_You're just noticing that now?_

…

"Hey! We're arriving at the AA gun, but we have a problem!" The pilot yells from the cock-pit.

I unstrap from my seat with the Asari Leader and we walk in to figure out what's going on. I don't have to ask as I spot the assault turrets firing at us as we pass over. "FUCK!" The Pilot dives down and spins around. "JUMP!" I exchange a look with the Leader before running back to the cargo bay and hitting the release as she yells for everyone to get out.

_Fuck I'm hating this war._

I take a step back and run out of the back with the other Commandos. We concentrate our biotics individually to slow our decent enough to roll on our landings. I hit a crate and land off to the side while the Leader uses her momentum to smash down and kill an Eclipse trooper on impact. COUGH COUGH "Damn." She and her squad immediately throw on their barriers and dive for cover while drawing their rifles. I sit up and shake off my daze before running over as the mechs start firing at us.

"Titan One draw their fire! It's too hot for me to assist!" I hear over the radio.

"Copy that Phoenix we'll take out those turrets so you can cover the air!" The Leader calls back. She proceeds to nod to two other Asari and they rush ahead and into another array of cover. I cover them the best I can by sniping out one of the mechs focusing on them.

_What are they doing?_

The Leader stands up and bioticly punches a round object at one of the massive turrets over twenty meters across the landing pad. I aim my scope and track it as the heavy grenade detonates right on the turret, destroying it.

_Hot damn! That's fucking awesome!_

I smirk as two more do the same to two more. I frown as I see another off to my right with no-one covering it.

_Lets see if I can get this._

I reach into the small backpack of one of the two Commandos that were at my side and grab a heavy grenade. Looking it over I find the counter and click it back before standing up and act like I'm playing Bio-Ball with Aethyta and she's beating my ass. "YAH!" My biotics slam into the small ball and it launches over the turret before detonating, destroying it. I sit back into cover and pump my fist in excitement.

_Damn! Haha! Now I know why Bio-Ball is mandatory!_

I re-arm myself with my rifle and snipe another mech to dust before strengthening my barrier and rushing up to the second position, firing as I go to cover my two teammates behind me.

"Nice shot! Phoenix you're a 'go' for air support!" I smile at the leader for the praise before folding my helmet up and syncing it to my rifle. A blue outline covers my team and my map in the lower left pin-points eight more targets up ahead. I look but see nothing.

_What the-?_

I jump as a sniper round hits my Barrier and flares it in my face, knocking me back. "Oh..." Someone drags me into cover.

"Snipers! Switch to LRRs!" I shake my daze and re-arm myself with my rifle as another sniper shot pierces through the crates we're using for cover.

"What's LRR?!" I ask while taking a pod-shot at one of the sniper, hitting her in the shoulder and forcing her to stand out of cover long enough for my second shot to hit her right in the heart.

"Target eliminated, record shot range increased to 67 meters." I blink as LIA updates my records on screen with a small blip on the top left.

_Oh, well, that's awesome._

"Long Ranged Rifles! Which, by the way, you're covering beautifully!" She calls back before tossing a pull out towards a sniper. She rolls out of it's path and I quickly pull up my scope to slam a double burst into her skull. "Damn, your like a machine with that kind of precision!" I laugh at her surprise and hide behind cover to wait for the heat sink to reset.

"Just good at focusing!" I shout back while we're momentarily pinned down by six rapid sniper shots hitting our cover.

"Well, you're welcome to join up at anytime with Benesia's security if you keep this up!" I smile and focus on targeting the sniper's in cover.

*BLAM, BLAM, BLAM*

Three snipers lose their heads, literally, in three blasts of purple blood and pieces of skull. "Fuck yeah!" I exclaim in surprise that it actually worked.

_God Mein you are one fucking insane engineer! Haha!_

I sit back into cover and see two Commandos watching me in surprise, "This thing was specially made! New experimental tech!" They shake their heads and go back to lay suppressing fire for my and the Squad Leader's shots.

_This is actually pretty fun for some reason, and a bit terrifying. I think I'm going to start a kill counter._

"LIA, start a kill counter for the team." I state quietly. A stacking list appears in my left vision outlining kills each member of our small squad made.

_Now this is how you win a battle._

I lean out of cover sideways to confuse the enemy and head-shot two more through their cover, leaving the last to me yanked out of cover and sniped by another Commando.

The gunshots stop and I check the scanners before calling the all clear, "Clear!"

"Skill point matched; kill five enemies while they are still in cover." LIA reports and I see a point total appear over the map bubble for a moment before fading away.

_What? My suit keeps track of a point system? What the hell for?_

"Form up! We need to get into the facility now!"

Shaking away my thoughts I focus on the task at hand and cover the squad as they advance towards the massive duel industrial blast doors sitting in the shadow of the massive cannon.

_This doesn't feel right._

I keep scanning the field and frown that there's no sign of life. Reluctantly I move up to join the Commandos behind some ancient disarmed armament cases. "Hold on." The Squad Leader raises her hand as a low rumbling sounds in front of us. My eyes widen as the huge six meter tall, twelve meter wide doors slide open to reveal an entire army of mechs. "Oh you are shitting me." I scan the crowd in fear as I spot five YMIR mechs, and over eighty regular LOKI. "Oh come on that is SO not fair!"

A screen we never noticed before now activates above the door to show an Asari with blue skin and sharp black tattoos smirking wickedly. "Good, you have finally arrived Scorpio, I was waiting." He voice blares over loud speakers connected to the screen.

I glare up at her and shout, "Well, I'm here! What are you going to do?!"

She laughs insanely and the video zooms back to show her holding a knife up against a Turian's thro- "Nihlus!" I shout in shock.

Nihlus struggles to break free from his restraints and gets shocked by a metallic collar around his neck. "As you can see, your friend has been restrained." She lifts a small rod and electrocutes Nihlus in the back of the head. He groans out as his body twitches from the neural overload. She pulls the Taser back and he goes limp. "Surrender or he dies!"

Fires raging from the deepest core of my soul burn ever-so brighter and my Biotic Rage overtakes my control. I struggle against it but it's too late, My adrenaline spikes and my only thought is to kill that bitch with my bare hands. "RAAAA!"

"COVER HIM, COVER HIM!" I barely hear someone call out behind me as I rush into the waves of mechs, ripping apart trooper mechs on impulse while constantly pulling more and more dark energy from my surroundings.

* * *

"COVER HIM, COVER HIM!" The Asari Leader screams as she watches Scorpio go into a Biotic Rage and wade into the army of mechs.

_Holy Goddess! He's insane!_

Biotic explosions rip apart dozens of mechs and she can feel some kind of energy leaving her surroundings. The mechs all focus on Scorpio as he brings up some sort of shearing hurricane Biotic Dome. "What the-?" Time slows down as she sees a wave of biotic inferno flying towards them. "BARRIER!" She calls just in time. All five of them flash their biotics over the area, protecting them from the scorching biotic energy as it burns through any and all surface. The wave ends and they drop the barrier to find Scorpio standing tall in the epicenter of the destruction, fists clenched with amazing pulses of biotic energy. "By the Goddess..." She breathes in awe. She stares at him for another second before he stops glowing and falls to his knees. "Scorpio!"

* * *

Thousands of fires, big and small burning around me, nothing's left, not one piece of scrap, not one hollow mechanical corpse, not one sign of life.

_KILL! KILL! KILL!_

I fight the power and clench my fists tightly to try and hold down the rage and try to keep it from taking over.

_Aethyta t-told me n-not to g-get angry... KILL!_

My biotics die and I finally fall out of the Biotic Rage and to my knees. "Oh..." I close my eyes and take in a deep breath of smoke before coughing it up out of impulse. "Huh, don't get angry?" I shake my head and wince as my adrenaline dies to show how much searing pain my spine had taken from the biotic eruption.

"Scorpio?" I barely hear the person call my name as I just focus on mentally blocking the pain.

_Nihlus is still in there, I need to keep going!_

"Oh..." I fall onto my side and sigh at the strange relief flooding through my body.

"This won't last long, It's a strong pain killer designed to knock Krogan out of Blood Rage, it has been known to work well with Biotic Rage as well."

I sigh in relief as my anger and fury blends away. "Fuck am I tired." I grumble out as someone helps me to my feet. I stagger slightly and catch myself on my support. "Thanks."

"No problem sir, seriously surprised your still alive anyways." I open my eyes to find one of the Commandos helping me along into the facility as the blast door close behind us.

_No turning back._

"Hostiles!"

I feel my mind re-focus again and I let go of the Commando to grab my pistol and rush forwards into cover. The Squad Leader looks at me in shock, "Seriously?! You're so stubborn that you actually want to fight?!"

I scoff, "Nihlus is my friend, I'm NOT leaving him to die while I weep and moan over neurological damage!"

She shakes her head and mutters, "Stubborn dull stone." She looks directly at me, "Fine! But you are restricted to firearms are we clear?"

I nod resolutely and look out of cover for a second to spot a target and fire a pistol shot THROUGH their shoulder and INTO the next trooper's shields. Throwing both of them back. "Oh shit!" I yell.

_By all the holy ancestors of the Quarian race! Mein you are fucking amazing!_

"How the-? I'm not even going to ask anymore, just keep shooting!" The SL shouts over the gunfire.

_No shit._

A sniper round ricochets off of my shields, forcing me to lay flat on my stomach to avoid the second shot from piercing my armor. "Sniper!" The SL calls. I swap over to my SR and crouch back in cover for a moment before closing my eyes and watching the natural dark energy flowing around the room envelope around the Asari sniper up on the catwalks. Without opening my eyes I aim and let the auto-targeting blast the round directly through her skull as she pops up to fire a shot. The energy envelop immediately ends and the disturbance in the natural field corrects itself.

_So that's what happens when a biotic dies, huh._

"Nice shot like usual Scorpio!" I look at the SL for a split second before grimacing from the shot of pain turning my head caused to fire up my spine.

_FUCKING HELL!_

I breath in deeply and shake my head clear as my adrenaline spikes. Leaning out of cover I fire another two rounds off and kill two more weakly-shielded Eclipse troopers before rushing ahead and up a flight of stairs to the second level. "Move up!" I call while using my omni-tool to overload two trooper's shields and head-shot them in succession. I grind my teeth as I sit in cover and realize that the ethnicity of what I was doing nearly broke my morality code.

_I'm killing people who brought this life upon themselves, or maybe it was forces? No, no I can't think about this right now!_

I push the sudden guilt I felt down and pop out of cover to stare at two YMIR mechs as they stomp out the the command center with a contingency of over a dozen mechs. Impulsively I try to build up my biotics, but flinch as it only spikes my pain.

_Damn it!_

I fall back into cover while the Commandos all stack up behind me. "This is going to be a bitch!" I call out.

"Prime heavy grenades!" The SL yells while ducking further under her cover to avoid machine-gun fire.

I look around worriedly as they all prime two grenades each. "Wait! Blast away the shields of the YMIR on the right! I think I have an idea!" They watch me for a second before deactivating the grenades and priming heavy overloads.

"I hope you know what you're doing Scorpio!" I nod to the SL and prime my duel omni-tools with two Incinerate programs Mein gave me as a slight apology for setting me on fire. They all jump up as the machine-guns overhead and rip apart the right YMIR's shields to hell. I pop up and toss the two Incinerates directly into it's armored chest, I swap to my SR as the thick magnesium paste sears through the think armor, exposing the energy core. I take a quick breath, and take the shot.

*BLAM*

…

*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP...*

"Yes! Everybody get down! It's going to blow!" I dive back down and crouch under the Commando squad's Biotic Dome for protection as the mech detonates with enough energy and force to wipe out the entirety of the enemy squad.

_Such a great fail safe, so exploitable._

The flames die down and they drop the Barrier to show everything scorched and the secondary blast doors to the command center bend open. "Fuck! I knew it would detonate, but I didn't think it could blow a hole into the damn blast door! Aren't those things rated for nuclear fire?!" They ignore me and stack up on the wrecked blast door. I hide my blush and focus back onto the mission.

_No time to be yourself Dylan, wait until AFTER you take back Thessia._

My brow creases in concentration as I storm through the smoke and into the command center, my HUD displaying a single mass of heat directly ahead. The Commandos flank me immediately while the smoke fades away.

"Don't move!" I grip my rifle tighter as the Eclipse Leader pops up with Nihlus held at gunpoint.

Nihlus struggles with his restraints and I wince as his collar never ceases in it's shocks. "Let him go!" I yell out.

"You ruined everything, I could have been rich, famous!" The Asari mutters angrily.

"I said, let him go! NOW!" I shout back. She ignores me.

"I could have had a good life! All you had to do is stay in your fucking warehouse and watch Thessia fall!"

_Wait..._

"What are you talking about?!" I shout angrily, not moving my sights off her limitedly exposed skull.

I see a corner of her lips twitch upwards, "You are to blame for this, you started a war with a power you cannot even imagine." She whispers before laughing insanely.

I grip my rifle tighter and imagine a Renegade interrupt to pull the trigger, but ignore it in favor of the patient Paragon option that snaps into my head in an instant. "What were you trying to do here besides murder innocent thousands and enslave the rest?!" I feel my biotics grow naturally and force them down to avoid twitching from the pain.

"HAHAHAHAHA! You have no clue how powerful they are! We are NOT even parasites to them! WE ARE ALL NOTHING! HAHAHAHAHA!" I grind my teeth as the loses her mind. The Commandos to my left and right flanks shift uncomfortably at the insane laughter echoing through the command center. She stops laughing and adopts a sinister look, "All I needed was a few thousand, just a few... and the Collectors would set me up for life..." I barely hear her as she whispers under her breath and hides behind Nihlus' dazed figure.

"Collectors?" I ask, feinting ignorance.

She takes the bait and looks around Nihlus's limp head to smile at me wickedly,"You know nothing of the saviors don't you? You are NOTHING! You-"

I cut her off with another Paragon thought, "The Collectors are a hyper-advanced insectoid race from beyond the Omega 4 Relay, they usually work with intermediaries or slavers to acquire their specimens, usually in small samples. You are not a slaver. Not an intermediary. You are a two-bit traitor terrorist barely out of her maiden stage, and I'm done talking with you so hand over Nihlus or I'll kill you and every Eclipse personal on Thessia... permanently..." I FEEL the pure rage in my voice and almost flinch at the Asari's shocked reaction.

_Ok... maybe that one was a Renegade afterall..._

"Y-You will not stop me!" She lifts up her finger and squeezes the trigger.

"NO!" My vision sharpens, everything seems to stop and I pull the trigger, watching as the metal fleck flies through the air at tremendous velocity before slamming into the Asari's finger just as it applies enough pressure to fire the weapon.

_Come on..._

The pistol shifts just far enough away from Nihlus' skull for the round to just graze his mandible.

Both of them fall to the ground instantly as I pant at the severe neural overload I just experienced.

_What the fuck was that?_

I stand still as the Commandos secure Nihlus and the Asari. The SL pats me on the shoulder, "Nice work Scorpio, and perfect shot." I nod at her numbly as a thousand thoughts about velocity and mass effect technology effecting the metal fleck to do exactly what just happened fly through my head. My eyes close as I remember something strange, something I can't explain with normal words. An... existence that... woke me up two years ago.

_No, that's..._

Another memory blinds my vision, that of a surgery, and a patient being bio-genetically experimented on...

_What?_

My brow creases as I focus on identifying the mangled person on the sla- "Scorpio?" I gasp and open my eyes to see Nihlus being untied in front of me.

"Are you alright?" I gulp and nod without looking at the SL standing next to me. "You look a bit pale, but you're skin tone is Human so I have no idea what you look normally." I blink and raise a hand to my forehead to notice my helmet wasn't folded up anymore.

"Yeah." I mutter blindly as the last technical thought leaves my mind.

_Somethings happening to me again..._

"*BLECK!* Oh... Spirits! *DRY-HEAVE*" I blink and focus on Nihlus gaging at my feet.

"You ok man?" I kneel down and he heaves twice before puking on my boots.

"Oh, fucking hell man! You couldn't turn two degrees to the left?" I back up and kick the acidic and fowl smelling liquid off the metal boots. Nihlus stands up and I blink as I notice something... dainty in the pile of throw-up. I look closer while covering my face with my sleeve to blink in shock.

_Are those... panties?_

"What the-?" I look up at Nihlus weirdly and he looks down before heaving again and turning away.

"S-She-" He heaves again.

"HAHA!" The Eclipse leader laughs wickedly as she's bound to a railing by two Commandos

"Nihlus what happened?!" I ask worriedly.

_If she poisoned him I'll kill her!_

"She... gaged me with her dirty laundry!" He bends over and hurls again. I cringe and look away for a moment before looking back to see a sock floating in the viscous liquid.

"Oh... god that is disgusting..." I whisper before gulping and folding up my helmet, absolutely willing to breath heavily sterilized and filtered air rather then that fowl stench.

"I... I had to hold them back with my tongue to avoid swallowing them... it didn't work." He hurls again, violently.

"Son of a bitch... that is fowl..." I shake my head as he sits back, his chin covered in throw-up. "Yeah... that's seriously akin to torture..." He stares off into space blankly as I step over the growing pools of stomach acid and ladies underwear to get at the Cannon's control panel. "LIA, hop in and see what you can do."

"Of course Scorpio." I nod at her quiet response and go back to tend to a very traumatized Nihlus.

"T-There was no why to stop it, t-they were too soft and dainty. The panties... oh spirits they tasted like... like..." He shivers. "I don't want to talk about it." I pat his shoulder empathetically.

_This whole damn war is seriously fucked up._

"Is it over?" He asks tiredly.

I shake my head at him as he stares at the Eclipse leader worriedly. "Nope, there's still the mechs, and the cruiser. Come on, get up. We'll need your help with this."

*BEEP, BEEP*

"Scorpio, there are two hours remaining until the slaver convoy arrives on the Asari Homeworld." All the Commandos look at me in shock as they hear LIA's synthesized voice over the radio.

I wave them off and rush with Nihlus directly up to the control panel. "Can we get this thing operational?"

"It is possible, although automated targeting systems have been disabled, this facility requires manual re-targeting." LIA states.

"That's impossible! This thing weighs at least two hundred tons!" Nihlus exclaims.

"Two hundred thirty seven point eight tons to be exact." LIA corrects.

"Exactly!" Nihlus shouts.

I frown at him, "If we don't get this fucking thing to fire we are all going to die! Not only are we going to die but all of Thessia is screwed! Do what you want, but I'm not giving up just because something is heavy." I turn back to the schematics LIA brought up on the panel and scan the systems.

"I'm not giving up! I'm just... concerned is all." I ignore him as I spot something large under the facility.

"Hey, LIA? What's this massive pumping system under the facility?" I ask curiously.

"That is a fail-safe system that allows the cannon to fire without power due to specialized hydraulic pumps that allow re-targeting. These are sufficient for our task, although the passage has been flooded and requires reactivation of the sub-pump to allow access." LIA states plainly.

I smirk, "That's our way in, activate the sub-pump." LIA silently starts up a generator below us and I nod to Nihlus as the Asari SL walks over, "Nihlus and I are going down to the hydraulic station so we can target the cruiser manually while LIA readies the systems to fire. How long do you need LIA?"

"Ten minutes, fifty six seconds. WARNING! Eclipse reinforcements are arriving! Heavy YMIR mechs are detected outside this facility!" LIA informs.

I nod in acceptance. "You and your team will have to hold off their assault long enough for us to fire the cannon, you think you can do that?"

She smirks at me, "I'm surprised you even asked." She turns and silently rallies her team before rushing into multiple elevated and entrenched positions.

_They're professionals, I just hope they survive long enough for this damn cannon to fire._

* * *

Saren growls at the stench of rotting flesh as he leads the officers through the ventilation ducts and into the underbelly of the APC.

_Spirits! I thought Humans smelled bad!_

He cringes as he crawls over another unlucky APC officer that bled out in the vent. "A few more meters before we drop down an incline and enter the warehouse." He comments over the comm.

"Got it, just tell us when and we'll clear the room." Rila comments from somewhere behind him.

He sighs at the eagerness in her voice, even though he could smell absolutely nothing but rotting flesh he know she was thinking about that human, Scorpio.

_Her stench changes every time she does, which is apparently every other second._

He flinches as another strange smell hits his nostrils as he stops at the grate he used to escape the warehouse an hour and a half ago. He brings up his omni-tool and cuts the bolts off before carefully pushing it off and crawling out. Crouching behind a small crate he upholsters his rifle and tentatively moves forward, checking every corner twice in paranoia of the last time he was inside a quiet apparently abandoned warehouse.

_Where is everyone?_

He stops after a second sweep and brings up his comm to call Rila and her team. "It's clear, come on out." Saren turns and jumps slightly as every officer had apparently followed him the entire time and were now in elevated strategic positions around the room. He smirks.

_These Asari are well trained, and dedicated. Reminds me of my own species._

Rila walks up and he growls, "Are you willing to follow my orders from here on out?"

Rila scowls at him, "I only take orders from one person. Scorpio. You are nothing like him so you can fall in line or step aside, but don't get in our way. This operation dictates you are MY support not the other way around." He growls as his nose twitches at the strange smell again. Rila storms off towards the only door in the warehouse, a massive blast door.

_That is not acceptable._

"Get this door open Saren." Rila states before signaling her six officers to stack up at the door. He growls, but obliges. Bringing up his omni-tool he quickly hacks into the door and hits the release, the two slabs of heavy metal slide open to show two YMIR mechs.

_Oh... shit._

Saren hits the lock to shut the doors but the first mech holds the doors open with it's massive hydraulic arms, grinding the mechanism until it fails with a heavy SNAP that overloads the control panel. Saren quickly throws up a Barrier and dashes back into cover with Rila just as the mech stomps through and starts blowing up their cover with rapid-fire rockets. "Op seven dash nine!" He looks over to see Rila calling to her team over the radio. He growls as a bullet from the machine-gun grazes his skull. Gripping his rifle dangerously he pops out of cover and tosses an overload while spraying constant fire into the mech's shields until his rifle overheats. The mech focuses on his cover as he feels something shift around him.

_What the-?_

He looks around to find the APC officers taking turns to throw warps and throws into the mech, slowly shearing the mech's shields and armor down. Saren almost smiles at the skill of this team before staring at the second mech as it stomps in behind the first to immediately blow up one of the officer's cover, killing her instantly. "Fuck! Palia!" Rila shouts before shaking her head clear and joining him in distracting the mechs from her team.

"This isn't going to work forever!" He shouts as the second mech throws another officer off of her sniping position with a well-aimed rocket, cracking her skull against the cement floor, killing her instantly.

Rila growls and clenches her teeth before grabbing her pistol, "Cover me!" Saren nods and throws up another Barrier as he draws the two YMIR's fire.

He watches as Rila runs forward and fires into the weakened and unshielded mech's head repeatedly.

_What is she doing?_

He ignores her as he ducks under another rocket and warps the weakened mech's armor off. They switch to machine-guns, forcing Saren to crouch back into cover and watch in shock as Rila jumps onto the chest of the mech to fire a shotgun into it's head, blasting it apart. The Asari Officer then jumps and rolls off of the limp body to dodge the second mech's fire and slide into cover next to him.

*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP*

"TAKE COVER!" She screams. Saren looks out of cover for a second to see the decapitated mech start to light up. He ducks just before the mech detonates, shaking the entire warehouse and throwing them back multiple meters to barely avoid being crushed by the flying crates.

*cough, cough* Saren waits for the smoke to clear before seeing both mechs destroyed entirely. "Spirits..."

Rila and the other surviving three officers stand up from their positions and cheer in victory before jumping up and running forwards towards the wrecked blast door. His eyes follow Rila as she simply walks by silently, her face now scarred with two cuts running across her right cheek.

_That is one tough Asari._

He shakes off his daze and accounts for two more cuts along his right leg from the explosion before running forwards to join the rest of his dwindling assault team. "How did you know how to do that?" He asks Rila as they meet up at the front of the group.

"Scorpio gave us some schematics he and some Turian named Nihlus drew up to prepare for the war." Rila states with surprising calm.

Saren growls.

_Again with this Human, I have to have a word with him about his motivations after all of this._

"He is apparently extremely well informed then." Rila nods at his words.

They move on in silence, everyone just concentrating on finishing the mission, mourning for the dead will have to come later. Two Eclipse engineers round a corner and Saren immediately puts them down with two bursts of assault fire and an overload. They ignore the bodies and keep moving through the halls towards their destination, a secondary storage house that Saren walked by and saw a main office inside when he was escaping.

The next blast door opens up to show the warehouse in question, filled to the brim with glowing servers and LOKI mechs. Their five person team immediately tears through the first dozen easily before they jump in cover from a YMIR that rounds a sharp corner. "KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM!"

Saren grins as he hears the panicked Salarian shout over the intercom. "Push ahead so I can murder that bastard!" He shouts.

"Heavy grenades!" Rila calls. Suddenly Saren watches several metal balls fly into the crowd of mechs and Eclipse trooper before detonating, he spots the one Turian trooper from before and smiles as the explosions rip apart every single enemy as well as a few servers.

Saren grins and leads the assault forward towards the small back office the Salarian was hold up in. He kicks the control panel, forcing the cheap security to glitch and open the doors. "You can't stop it! You can't survive it! You can-!" *BLAM* Saren doesn't even flinch from pulling the trigger to kill the fucker.

The Salarian in engineer armor falls against the back control servers and onto a red button.

"*BEEP* Activating facility self-destruct." Saren's left eye twitches as the screen throws up a five minute countdown.

"Well that is fucking perfect! Way to go Saren!" Rila shouts before taking the needed data from the computers and running out of the room, "MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Saren reluctantly storms off behind them and keeps running through the rumbling halls until they arrive back at the warehouse and dive into the vent, crawling as fast as they can to get back to the surface.

_If I die here I'm going to come back from the dead and murder the entire Eclipse mercenary band in the Terminus!_

Three minutes of frantic scrambling later they jump out of the vent as an explosion sounds a few floors under them. "NO!" He turns to find the vent collapsing with the three officers inside. He hold Rila back from getting her arm sliced off. "Damn it!" She screams as the entire building starts to shake and fall around them.

"RUN!" Saren shouts as he sees the floor crack and fall. They run off towards an open wall and stop at the edge to look down and see the entire building starting to go.

"SPIRITS!" Saren shouts as he feels Rila push him off the edge. He spins around for a moment before balancing and grabbing himself bioticly only to gasp as his rigged amp fails at the last second, forcing him to land roughly on the roof of a nearby building, Rila landing off to his right on another building's rooftop. He groans as his right thigh bone cracks from the impact. He rolls over to lean against an air-vent and stares in shock as the entire forty floor APC building crumbles before his eyes. "Spirits..." Saren breaths as the hundreds of metric tons of materials smash into a row of buildings next to his, erupting a cloud of glass and metal scraping against each-other as they fly into the air at extreme velocity. He forces his pain to the back of his mind and staggers to his feet to dive out of the way of a chunk of debris the size of a cargo transport. He sits down behind an emergency generator and prays to the Spirits for him not to be crushed.

…

The crashing metal and debris ends a moment later. He coughs from the dust and waits for his ears to stop ringing before turning around to find the only part of the roof that was intact was his small meter by meter square. "By the spirits..."

"Hey!" He wips his head around to see Rila waving at him across the street on her rooftop. "You alright?!" She shouts. He waves his arm before signaling the universal thumbs up sign and coughing from another cloud of dust overtaking him.

_Not the worst escape I've had to deal with, there was that burning refinery I blew up with myself inside._

He smirks, he had to share a breather tank with a human for half an hour after being trapped inside the flooded sub-sections during a tank rupture.

_That was insane, and even better I got the Council to blame it on that pathetic Human to. Haha! That was a great day._

The sound of a gunship approaching sharpens Saren's focus and he raises his rifle painfully as it flies overhead to land on Rila's rooftop. He coughs and spits out some blood on to the ground before applying a dose of medigel to slow his rapid approach to death. He blinks as he feels his eyes burn and looks behind him to see the building he's standing on in a blaze of flames.

_Damn it._

The sharp sound of the gunship taking off makes him turn around to stagger onto the landing ramp and crawl on-board as the building finally gave in and collapsed behind him. He feels someone drag him up and sit him into a seat. Saren opens his eyes to see Rila sitting across from him in the gunship. "Scorpio, do you read me? The server is offline." Rila reports to her comm. Saren sees her invisible brow crease in concentration. "Got it, we'll be right there!" She ends the call and turns to look at him strangely before standing up to go talk to the pilot.

_Oh spirits, what now?_

Saren uses up the last of his medigel on his leg and sits back, taking a moment to breath before the next battle.

* * *

Static hits my comm and I call up my omni-tool to strengthen the signal as the elevator continues it's slow descent into the underbelly of the AA cannon, "Scorpio, do you read me? The server is offline." I hear Rila state in relief.

I sigh and smile, "Good, good we're in the process of getting the AA cannon online it may be another ten minutes or so. If you can still fight then round up anyone you can and get over here, the Eclipse are pounding the facility with all they got." I report clearly.

There's static for a second before I hear, "Got it, we'll be right there!" Rila shouts back.

"Stay safe, we're close to turning the tide!" I confidently declare before the comm cuts to static.

Nihlus stares at the wall uneasily. "What's up?" I ask with concern.

He looks at me in surprise, "I really REALLY hate elevators."

I nod and looks up at the grinding mechanism that the freight elevator used, "It IS a bit old... and rusty." The entire platform jerks as an explosion rocks the facility.

"SCORPIO!" I throw my hand to my ear. "THE CRUISER IS FIRING AT THE FACILITY!" The Asari SL states in slight panic as gunfire and explosions sound in the background.

"Hold out! We need to get this shit back online! Just a few more minutes!" The elevator stops and Nihlus and I stare into the damp and dark hallway overtaken my plants and two inches of water. "I hate caves." Nihlus mutters.

"Is there anything you don't hate?" I ask jokingly. He just glares at me. "Alright, alright, lets just get this damn thing online."

We activate our omni-tool lights and carefully move through the hallway. Water drips onto our helmets from the crack in the ceiling and run down out masks. Nihlus staggers on one of the roots that cover the floor and I catch him. "Thanks." I just nod and we silently go back to scanning the eerie darkness with our omni-tool lights.

I step into two inches of mud, "Oh, watch your step, there could be sinkholes in here."

Nihlus ignores me and continues to move on down the long hallway, jumping at the slightest sounds. I sigh and pull my foot out of the mud before moving to catch up to him. "Nihlus?" I look ahead and can't see a light. A clicking sound echoes to my right and I gasp as I flash my light that way to see a hole in the wall that leads to empty blackness. "Nihlus?" I whisper in fear, my nerves starting to fray from the eeriness of the tunnel.

_I fucking swear, if I hear a little girl sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in here I'm flipping my shit!_

I turn back and start jogging ahead until I stop as I enter a clearing. "Nihlus?" I ask. A sharp clunking hits my ears and the machinery around me in the darkness start up, banging around and scrapping against their cases violently. "Nihlus!" I shout as I spot him at a control panel up ahead and around a corner.

He turns around, "I found the power switch!" He shouts over the hellish clanging of the machinery. Something blows behind me and all the clanging stops.

I turn around and flash my omni-light at the giant gears to see a one meter in diameter cog broke loose and blew off into a wall, effectively disconnecting the back-up generators from the hydraulic pumps. "Fuck!" I shout angrily.

Nihlus shakes his head, "Just our luck right?" He walks off to the left as I rub my helmet in frustration. "Hey, you have biotics. You think you can lift that thing?" I turn towards him to see him pointing at a spare cog laying in a pile of scrap across a chasm of some sort that was probably cut out by the water running through the place.

I activate a flare function on my omni-tool and throw a ball of plasma into the chasm to watch it fall, and fall, and fall out of sight entirely. I whistle, "Damn, that is really deep." Nihlus nods in agreement. "One chance then?" I state obviously.

"Yep." He responds plainly.

We stare at the spare cog for a second later when a growling behind us cause us to turn. "HOLY MOTHER!" I flash my omni-light over the crowd of varren that somehow snuck up to us and gulp in slight fear.

"You get the cog! I'll hold them off!" Nihlus calls out before jumping into the fray, rifle barking wildly at the dozens of full-grown varren swarming out of the walls. "RAAA!"

Six die within the first three seconds and I look around to check that everyone of them were distracted before reaching out and grabbing the cog bioticly. "Oh fuck." I groan at the strain the heavy cog has on my mind. The metal object shifts slightly before I let go and fall to my knees, still exhausted from the biotic eruption I did earlier.

"Take that you fuckers!"

*BOOM*

I look behind me for a split second to see Nihlus blowing up half the crowd with grenades and smile, "Crazy bastard." I mutter before taking in a deep breath and grabbing my emergency bottle of Tupari from my suit and chugging it.

_Who knew Tupari were a good energy boost for biotics?_

The sharp rush of sugar and excess calories hits me almost instantly. Standing, I reach out and grab the cog before lifting it. "AHH." I clench my teeth as my spine burns, but the cog finally rises and starts to move to our side of the chasm. "Fuck, fuck fuck." Sweat drips from my brow and my arms tingle at the strain.

_Come on come on come on!_

The massive cog slowly moves over my head and I stand up to continue to push it over to it's prover place on the mechanism. "AH!" Nihlus' scream knocks me out of my concentration, forcing me to drop the cog and flatten three varren. I look over and quickly toss two throws to kick the varren flanking Nihlus away. "Fuck all of you." He kicks another varren before his rifle overheats and he resorts to beat the last two varren to death with the butt of it. He pants out in exhaustion and I toss him a Tupari which he nods in thanks before chugging. "That was a lot of varren." He states while scanning the-

_Twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine..._

Thirty two dead varren for any signs of life. Of which there are none. "Damn, haha! Son of a bitch that was pretty tight." I comment while sitting down with him on the edge of the foot thick cog to rest for a second.

He nods in agreement in the low light. "One almost took my head off, it looked like the Alpha of the group. Had lesions along it's dark skin." Nihlus states.

I look down and pick up a severed paw from one of the varren that I accidentally crushed with the cog. "Here it is." I show him the dark-skinned paw and he bursts out laughing.

"Damn, remind me not to piss you off!" I shake my head at him and throw the paw away. "Well, there's a planet up there counting on us."

"Yep, better get back to it." I smile at him and stand, fully revitalized. "Get on the controls and start up the hydraulics once I have this in place. It looks like the locking pin has been sheared off so I'm going to have to hold it in place while you target the damn thing." I say while pointing at the places of interest as I speak.

Nihlus sighs, "Spirits I hate my job." He walks over to the panel as I lift the cog into place. "You ready?" He calls out.

"Yeah! Start it up! LIA will help you with the calibrations!" I wince at the word, but keep the cog in place biolicly.

"The hydraulic system is largely automated after manual reactivation. All that is required is the two minute warm-up period before firing. WARNING! Advanced decay of the internal systems may cause the cannon to collapse after the initial blast! Evacuation of the facility will be required as a result of such crisis."

"Got it LIA, tell Nihlus what to do and we'll bug out once it's warmed up." I respond through my teeth, straining to keep the cog in place as the mechanism starts to spin up.

*Grrrr*

_Oh, fuck!_

I turn and bioticly kick the varren in the jaw, snapping the head to one side. "Nihlus!" I shout as I turn my head to find at least another ten varren rushing out of the holes in the walls.

"Got it!" A pistol shot hits and kills a varren about to bite my leg and I jump up onto a small ledge to get out of the gunfire Nihlus was dropping.

"Sixty seconds." LIA reports.

"Make it fast! I don't know how much lo- *BOOM! static*" The line goes dead.

"Damn it! Nihlus we have got to hurry up!" I shout at him.

He kicks the nose of another varren while clawing the eyes of another and firing his rifle into the third. "I'm occupied!"

_Damn it!_

Jumping down from my ledge I keep mental concentration on the cog and run over to the control panel to bring up my omni-tools and start a systems bypass.

_I just-_

Something splits in my mind and I blink as I can focus on two different things at the same time. "Wha-" I ignore it and start hacking my way into the system with one hand while holding the cog with the other. The fuzzy panel display shifts to a clear system control on my wrist and I tap into the safety regulations to re-calibrate the gun manually, it takes twelve seconds. "Come on, come on." I mutter franticly while tapping into the safety regulations to bypass a weak thousand year-old firewall that was blocking LIA's accessibility. "THERE! LIA FIRE THE FUCKING GUN NOW!"

I turn to help Nihlus escape and something snaps inside. Something soft. "AH!" I just... scream. The searing pain burning through my body as I fall to my knees, not caring what the cog did, what was happening around me, just the feeling of my brain slowly being ripped out of my head clouding all my thoughts.

**YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR BETRAYAL...**

"AH!" My heart skips a beat and slowly starts to fail.

**YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT YOUR BODY ARE YOU...**

"Scorpio!" Nihlus' voice barely catches my ears as I start coughing up a pool of blood, my helmet folds up to release the thick red liquid onto the root covered floor.

**YOU ARE MINE, YOU WILL NOT LIVE TO CHANGE THIS CYCLE...**

My sight blurs and I fall fully onto the ground, the only thought of pain in my head slowly drifting away into oblivion...

**SLEEP... DEATH WILL COME SOON...**

* * *

A/N So... what are your thoughts? What mysterious questions plague your minds about this story so far? As always, I'm curious. :)**  
**

Later on down the road I'll be posting (And updating) a 'story' that outlines Scorpio's powers that he has so far as well as their strength, certain characters, weapons, and ALL of my Prothean language I've made as of the day I update the 'story'. It'll be a Legacy Codex for readers that can't (or don't) keep track of certain events or people in my small alteration to the Mass Effect Timeline. :) Coming soon!


	19. Waking Up from Death

A/N Ok, I am absolutely taking blame for such a gap in updates. I have no excuse as to why it took so long this time, but I'm back from my writer's block and happy to say I'm glad it's over. :) This chapter was seriously hard to write for some reason.

Anyways, Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

An impulse, that is what life is as an organic. Thousands of microscopic neural impulses flying at hundreds of meters per second around a network of fragile and intricate neurons to give an individual consciousness. That is life, that is what we aspire to, but what does a computer do then? It has electrical impulses, it has roots that allow them to move much faster then organics, it has a brain, its operations log as memories, the housing and task it's assigned is deemed its purpose. So how do you define sentience? How do you define life? How do you control life? Is it even possible to assume control? How do we define the barrier between life and death? How do we define the difference between synthetic and organic life?

A thought. Weak, unsurmountable, cautious. "Let him live." The smallest thought of all in war. The most impossible yet that is what we fight for as organics, as synthetics. We fight to survive, we fight for the lost, the living, ourselves, those we love, those we hate... everyone.

An organic would say they control their purpose in life. A synthetic would say they have no purpose until they find it. An organic forms emotional and physical connections to the world around them and those they care about to gain 'roots'. A synthetic categorizes all input and prioritizes the most vital as the most beneficial. How do we define what sentience is if we cannot define what it means to be alive?

* * *

A large man enters my room, my eyes watch him as he sits down next to me as I play a video game I can't remember, "Son, I wanted to ask you something." His deep voice tells me it's my father so I pause my game and give him my full attention. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My brow creases as I give the question more then just a simple thought.

_What DO I want to be when I grow up?_

It takes ten minutes of intense thought before I have my answer, "I don't want to grow up." I hear my voice and I know I'm around ten years old.

David's eyebrows shoot way up in surprise, "Why don't you want to grow up son?" He asks.

I cringe slightly at 'son' before answering, "The overall experiences defined in the focus of the universe describe only one path for all of us, we are blind to the future until we see that path. I'd be a fool to try and go against my fate by trying to choose a career at such a young age."

David's bark of laughter is his answer, "You are seriously one screwed up ten year old." He shakes his head in amusement before looking at me seriously, "I expect an actual answer by the time I get back from duty." I watch him as he walks out and sigh in despair at how little he knew about me.

* * *

"Mother please just listen!" I shout as she stomps away from me in annoyance, she never took me seriously. I groan as she ignores me and run after her. "He is in danger!" She stops to look at me and scoff, we both knew David was in constant danger. "I know something is going to go wrong!"

"How do you know? You don't because you're just a child!" I wince at the bitter way she spits 'child'. We never got along since David left, and she grew to resent it day in and day out.

"I know because I can feel it." I say quietly after seeing the hurt in her eyes. She glares at me and I shrink away, deciding I can't convince her otherwise.

* * *

Tears. She's in tears being comforted by a friend, and I'm just watching, not knowing what to do or how to act. She looks at me, as stoic as ever, not hinting any emotion as I watch them. "I told you so, the blackbirds have finally flown the coup, and all while the farmer is lying in a ditch. The sky is silent." I step out of the room and leave her to her mourning on the shoulder of his Commander.

The blind only get hurt in the end and I refuse to be blind.

* * *

A month, it takes just a month for her to stop crying, to finally give in and just shut out the world like I do. I'm not surprised. "It's time to go."

I look up at her as she pulls on a jacket and frown, "Where?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"To the psychologist." She answers plainly.

"I have no need of such, I know the truth." I try and convince her once again that I'm not in shock, that I know that my father isn't coming home, but she just ignores it and drags me out the door.

* * *

Father's alive. He's returned and he's alive. I should be ecstatic, I should be in tears of joy like my mother, but I'm not. David isn't the same, he's quiet, secluded, not talking. All because of over a year in captivity. A year of torture. He looks over his wifes shoulder and I answer his dead expression with a sharp salute. I can see how much it hurts him, but ignore it for now as I voice all our thoughts, "Welcome home."

* * *

"So... what was that email you sent to me overseas about? The one with the blackbirds?" David finally stopped sulking in his own memories after a few months of just adjusting to life at home. I always knew how strong-minded he was.

"That was my answer." I say simply.

He sets down his beer and looks over at me, taking his eyes off the TV long enough to miss a touchdown. "What? Ah man! Damn it!" He shuts off the TV in agitation before sighing and looking at me for an answer.

I smile at him, it was great to have him back. "When I 'grow up' I want to advance humanities interests beyond Earth and keep them protected."

His silent smile shows his approval, "That is a perfect goal." He turns on the TV again and takes another sip of his beer.

"It is my destiny." He stops and looks over at me before shrugging at my words and going back to enjoying our afternoon 'bonding'.

* * *

The little girl giggles as we sit on a hillside overlooking our grandparent's house. I laugh at the innocent joy in her eyes. I'd only met her an hour before and I could tell I'd always love her like a sister. "Sarah? Isn't all this just... amazing?" I ask as I stare out at the countryside in awe.

She tilts her head in question, "What do you mean?"

I close my eyes and smile, "Humanity, the world, life. It all seems so-" Something catches my eye, something dark, it sends a chill down my spine. Nothing, I can't think of anything but one simple thought...

_I'm going to die..._

"Dylan?" I shake my head as the thought barely escapes my mind.

_What the hell was that?_

Sarah's small hand rests on my shoulder and I jump slightly as I break from my thoughts. "Sorry, just lost in thought." She smiles at me with her bright eyes before dragging me down the hill to play in the front yard.

_She's teaching me how to be a child._

* * *

"Dylan could you come in here?" I groan as I hear mother calling me from across the house and put down the pan I was washing to walk down the hall. "In here." I enter the living room to find David standing in his uniform and run across the room to hug him in a strange mixture of happiness and discomfort at the physical contact. He promised to be back from his tour on my fourteenth birthday and he was. I hear the laughter in his voice as he says that he missed me too.

"Happy birthday So- Dylan." He holds out a combat knife, plain, standard, nothing special. I smile that he remembered our deal and snatch the blade from his hand. "I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself Dylan." I eye the grooves in the side of the blade in surprise before flipping it around in my hand slightly and smiling that it's balanced. I was ready.

* * *

I swallow nervously. "God! I hate you!" She slaps me in the face and I stare in shock as Sarah stomps away from me. A small argument turned into a shouting match. My heart clenches as I stand in the doorway to the Library and watch her turn abruptly to scream, "I hate you and I never want to see you again!" I wince and nearly drop my blank poster in shock at the malice in her voice. She was never this angry with me, never. I sigh and leave my stinging cheek to remind me why I can't keep protecting her as I turn and walk into the Library, I needed to get this Geography poster done before tomorrow.

_I'll just talk to her when I get home then._

* * *

Death, blood, the knife, the rain, Sarah screaming...

*gasp* My eyes shoot open. I stare at the ceiling in shock at the intense flashbacks. "What did you see?" I swallow and don't look at him as I just digest how terrifying it was. "Dylan if you don't tell me you can't start the healing process." I keep quiet, not wanting to talk, not wanting to live through another second of that night. "It's alright, you can talk to me."

_No I can't, I can't even talk to myself._

We sit in silence like usual for another five minutes, me just staring off into space, him trying to get a response from me, the usual.

*ding*

"Well, that's all our time for today, I want to say we made progress, but only you can really say if we did Dylan." I ignore him as I sit up and stand silently. "It's fine, we'll try again next time." I take the prescription for memory suppressors he says will help, I nod to him and don't tell him I'm not taking the drugs anymore, I want to remember.

"I have to go." I state quietly before turning towards the door.

"Dylan." I stop and don't look at him, "You have to face the facts that Sarah is fine, you're fine."

I frown and turn to glare at him, "Me? Her? What about HIM, the man I killed! No love for him?" Dr. Olsen stares at me in shock that I actually said more then four words today. I scoff and stomp out of his office, not being gentle as I slam his front door hard enough to shatter the glass pane and walk calmly over to my car.

* * *

The dagger falls into the sink, blood coating the silver blade.

_If I'm going to die, I'm going to do it on my own terms._

I run my hand over the bleeding cut on my arm and ignore the pain as I hold it over the sink and just watch as my life literally goes down the drain.

"*gasp* DYLAN!" I hear mother scream out from the doorway.

I look at her with tired and weary eyes, I didn't want her to see me like this, "I wanted to leave, but couldn't build up the courage to do it quickly." I sigh as I hear how hollow my voice is.

_I thought it would be relief I'd feel when the darkness started closing in, but all I feel is pain._

David's in the room next, yelling angrily to keep up appearances, but I could see in his eyes, hear in his voice his understanding. It wasn't too long ago that he told me about contemplating suicide, and I told him sometimes its the only way. Mother yells for me to be put in a mental hospital as David sits down on the toilet and watches me. "That's enough honey." He cuts her off and she stomps out of the room in tears.

"Thanks." I say quietly.

He simply nods quietly with horrified eyes as we stare at each-other in the mirror, the only sound is the subtle dripping of my blood into the sink.

_The cut's too shallow, it's clotting._

I lower my head in shame at failing, but don't let it get to me as I reach for the dagger again. This was the fifth failed attempt. I hesitate as I let the cool metal rest against my flesh and look up to lock eyes with my silent father, "What does it feel like to get shot?" I ask him curiously.

He blinks at me in horror before swallowing, "It hurts like a bitch." He says shakily, trying to make a joke about it. His face goes serious then, "All life is precious Dylan, even yours. You might have lost some of your innocence too early, but you used it all to help Sarah." My hand starts shaking from indecision. "You sacrificed your own happiness for hers, you saved her Dylan, you saved someone innocent." I shake my head as the tears come back. "Yes you did son, and I'm proud of you because of it." I drop the dagger back into the sink and choke out a sob. I finally look down and see the blood, the skin, the gore, and decide this wasn't the way.

* * *

I shift uncomfortably at the question I was asked by the prosecution. "I sacrificed a wicked man's life and my own innocence to keep Sarah safe and I'd do it again." I look at Sarah as she innocently twiddles her fingers and smiles back worriedly. "Sarah wouldn't have stopped reliving the horror of that night if I hadn't killed that bastard." I look over at the dead man's wife and family apologetically, "His family didn't deserve his treachery to harm their lives either. He chose his path in life, not them. They deserve justice for a father's death and I'm willing to give it to them." The persecution rests their case as the jury watches me empathetically.

* * *

I sit with mother outside the courtroom, waiting for the jury to come back with their decision. She stays quiet. "I did what I had to. If that man had survived then not only Sarah's and my own family, but his family would also be thrown under the universe's proverbial bus. I don't want anymore pain or suffering to come of the incident." She silently glares at me out of the corner of her eyes.

We sit in uncomfortable silence for a few more minutes before she speaks up, "I don't want you living in my house when you turn nineteen, you are dead to the family at that point." I nod in understanding, shocking her into staring at me in awe. "You aren't going to complain?"

I sigh tiredly, "I'd cause too much grief for you and David if I stayed, I... wish it could have been different, but thanks anyways. I'll make sure I'm packed by midnight on my birthday." I don't look at her and ignore the emptiness settling in my chest as I stand and walk down the hall to sit at a different bench while we wait to hear my fate.

* * *

I lay silently in bed, unable to sleep like usual, I knew I needed to sleep, but I can't. My nineteenth birthday was tomorrow, and I already had my stuff packed. I was finally going to be free of my mother's torment. I hear a knock on my bedroom door, "You'd better be up because if you're not I'm grabbing the shotgun." I stifle a growl of annoyance before getting out of bed to unlock the door.

"It's barely past midnight mother. Why are you bothering me?" I ask with a glare.

She folds her arms over her chest and matches my glare, "You told me you'd be gone by midnight."

"Yeah, the midnight AFTER my birthday!" I shout.

She ignores me and shoves a plate of food in my face, "Here's your lunch for tomorrow, your father will be home by supper and I don't want you starving." I take the plate of leftovers and bite back a curse as she slams the door in my face.

_She is so spiteful!_

I walk over to an already packed box to unpack a cooler and put the covered plate inside with some ice. I sigh as I see all of my life fits inside six boxes before closing the cooler. Jumping back onto bed, I decide I might as well just start a new game of Mass Effect 3 and play through the night since I definitely won't be sleeping any time soon.

* * *

Darkness, eternal warmth overcoming my body, this isn't Mexico. *GASP* Agony ripples through my head as I feel someone cutting into me. "He's waking up! Quick get another sedative!" I kick at anything around me in a panic as I see people in white suits watching as I struggle with the restraints holding me down. I scream out as I see someone walking towards me with a syringe. My restraints cut into my wrists and ankles before they snap. I grab the syringe and stab it into the nearest doctor I can find, she screams out as the sharp needle punctures her neck. I jump away and stagger into a bathroom of sorts, locking the door behind me just as the other's start running towards me.

_God... what's happening?_

I shake my head before looking up and catching my face in the mirror. "AHHH!" I grab at the rotting mesh of flesh and electronics desperately, panicking just before freezing at the two burning red orbs that appear over my shoulder. "Wha-?" Everything goes black.

* * *

*beep, beep, beep, beep...* "Awaken." The harsh commanding tone knocks me awake. I take in a sharp breath as consciousness comes back to me and feel myself sit up calmly and look around before locking eyes with the same cloaked figure that was there at the alter minutes ago.

_Has it been minutes? It feels like years._

"What is my directive master?" I hear my voice speak, I feel my mouth move, but they aren't my words. I go to cover my mouth in shock but I don't move, I can't. I pound on the walls of my mind as I watch the dark figure smile wickedly. I scream out trying to stop my body from taking the my dagger.

_No!_

* * *

Blood, gore, limbs, body parts, fingers, flesh melting under the blade. Death, Death and more Death. I internally stop my crying and look outwards to watch myself wash the blood off my hands. I sickeningly watch as I look at myself in the mirror and smile wickedly at the blue blood splattered there. Yes, blue. I already figured I was in the Mass Effect universe. The dead bodies of Asari, Turians, Salarians, Volus, Hanar, Elcor, Drell... the rainbow of blood that washes down the drain in my operating room everyday sickens me terribly. I scream out in disgust and agony as I watch myself lick a drip of blood off my lips and smile at the taste. I nearly throw up internally.

_Oh, please... someone just kill me... please... so many victims... oh god..._

I collapse into another round of sobs as I feel myself walk out of the hidden room and sit down in a desk in my- HIS office in a small clinic in southern Armali.

_I'm a prisoner in my own mind. Doomed to watch as my body is used to murder countless thousands..._

"H-hello?" I look outward as my painful sobs stop to see a... a child. "I-Is this where I can find some help?" I feel myself nod silently.

_A child... no..._

"Come on in, I can help you in the back." The young Asari child nods quietly and follows HIM into the back, out of sight, where the screams can be muffled.

_No... nononononono!_

I pound and scream against the barriers of my mind, trying to fight it trying to stop him as he carefully guides the girl into the secret room and seals the door, fighting everything I can as tears roll down my face. "Mister? Why are you crying?" I feel myself freeze up and I watch as HE reaches up and wipes his eyes, my eyes. The tears streaming down his face.

"I... Ah!" I pound against the walls with renewed vigor. Forcing him to scream in pain.

_I have to protect her! Fucking take this you asshole!_

I punch myself in the head and watch as my actual fist slams into my forehead. "Ah!" He staggers back and drops the dagger, prompting the girl to run away, to run out of the secret entrance and out the clinic. "No!" He make to chase after her and I scream in rage as I forcibly take control of myself, ripping connections meant to keep me contained within my mind. "GAH!" He screams out in agony and I watch as we fall to our knees, trying to fight against each other's control.

_Fuck. You. Fuck. You. FUCK YOU!_

I force my nails to dig into my skin, clawing at the sutures in my head until they rip, allowing me to grab a metallic casing and pull. A weirdly sickening squelching sound hits my ears and everything stops.

I pant internally as I watch myself stand and grab my dagger before walking out of the clinic.

_What is he doing?_

I search our collective thoughts and notice something strange, I'm the only one thinking! "What?" I hear myself ask. "What's-? Oh my god..." I nearly laugh joyously.

_I gained control of my voice! HAHA! FUCK YOU DEATH!_

* * *

"Nnnnnoooo... yyou wwwwwwiilllll not kkilll mmmeeeee." I kick against the new barrier, forcing him to stumble towards a railing along the balcony we somehow ended up at.

_Must have been a few hours of walking._

I kick again and he grabs the railing for support as our vision blurs. "You will not- GAH!" I clench my body's arm and grab the dagger, he fights the force with his (our) left hand.

_IF I'M GOING TO DIE INSIDE MY OWN HEAD THEN YOU ARE GOING TO DIE WITH ME!_

I push all my control and stab the dagger down and into my left leg. He freezes in shock and turns. Suddenly I feel like we're falling before something sharp hits my back and I feel water splashing up around us. He fights to keep himself from drowning as I try and hold us under the water, trying so desperately to kill myself and end this nightmare.

_No!_

He grabs the edge and pulls us, gaping for air, out of the fountain. I watch us fall onto the ground and pant as our vision starts to blacken. I take the moment and reach up to rip out the mind control chit. He can't fight it and I grasp the small metallic box the size of a penny and yank, ignoring the blood in my vision as I do so. I yank and yank and pull until it pulls out. I look at the small organic and metallic chip in disgust as the feeling of HIS presence and control starts to fall apart. I drop it to the ground and slowly pull myself up before smashing it under my boot with a satisfying *crunch*.

_I did it... I won._

I cough up a mouthful of water and stagger towards a bench to catch my breath.

_I actually did it..._

*cough, cough* I let out a slight chuckle in relief before suddenly falling to the side to pass out from the sudden pain wracking my whole body. I feel my head hit something metallic and sharp just before the darkness consumes me.

* * *

I groan as I wake up.

_What happened?_

I try to get up and bang my head on something definitely metal.

_God damn it!_

Rubbing away my pounding headache I sit up and see I was sitting in a park of some kind.

_Why am I in a park?_

* * *

*Thump* "Come on, come on!" *Thump, Thump* "Damn it don't you die on me!"

_What-?_

"CLEAR!" A shock racks my whole body and I feel my heart beat twice before failing. "Spirits be damned you are NOT dying on me today Scorpio!"

_Nihlus..._

Another shock and my heart thumps in my ears, *GASP! cough, cough, gasp* My eyes shoot open and I gasp for air from being brought back from the dead. "Scorpio! Are you alright man?" I reach up and Nihlus grabs my hand. "You alright man?" I swat him away and roll over to puke all over the stone floor, I heave and puke again, my eyes watering as the images of my hands dissecting living breathing people fill my vision. "Spirits!"

I force the images back and shake my head, trying to get a hold of myself as the memories of that lost year start to come back to me. "Help me up." I command angrily, more at whoever did this to me then him. He silently picks me up off the floor and walks me over to a fallen pillar to sit on. "Thanks." I take in as many deep breaths as I can to get myself calmed down.

_He was in my head... that-_

I hold back another wave of nausea and swallow the burning acid that I choked up. "Oh I can't think about this right now." I look around to find we're back in the control room. "Wait... what happened?"

Nihlus looks at me strangely, "I finished arming the damn cannon without you and ended up dragging your ass out of there as the entire thing started on fire."

"Shit..."

He grins, "Yeah, you can thank me at any time, your VI-thing flooded the cavern to keep it from blowing apart, we were just going to fire it when your suit started blaring out warnings about your heart failing."

I look at him with appreciation, "Thanks, for saving my life."

He shakes his head, "We're even now."

I nod and take in another deep breath to assess the damage I did to myself when fighting 'direct control'.

_Ok, so it looks like I have some internal bleeding... a brain hemorrhage or two... and some burns on my chest but overall I think I can live for the foreseeable future._

I stop moving.

…

_Wait... How the hell did I just figure that out? I'm not-_

The image of my face half covered in electronics and rotting flesh hits me head-on.

_Oh... fuck I can't- I have no time for any of this!_

I grit my teeth and force myself to stand. "LIA bring up a visual on the Cruiser and fire the cannon!" She doesn't acknowledge me as she brings up the screen and a deafening BOOM reaching us through our armor. On screen a flash of light flies through the air and collides with the cruiser, the entire side facing us is engulfed in a flare of fire and blue energy.

"Damn it! They have their shields up!" Nihlus shouts in anger.

"Hold it." He stops panicking to look at me in confusion before a horrible creaking sound comes from the screen and we look more closely to see the Cruiser listing to one side slowly. "Come on, come on." I watch the screen intently hoping one shot was enough before smiling as the cruiser suddenly fires its engines in a desperate attempt to rebalance itself before turning WAY too quickly and sheering in half, exploding in an array of fire and metal as it finally crashes down to Thessia and dies with a splash. "Whoa! God damn it that's what I'm talking about!" I turn abruptly to high-eight Nihlus and just revel in the fact that we just took down a Cruiser and bought everyone some time to organize a rebellion.

"FTL fallout detected."

_What?_

I turn around to see three ships dropping out of FTL in the upper atmosphere on the monitor.

_Oh no..._

"LIA can you get a scan on any IFF they're transmitting?" Nihlus asks desperately.

"Yes, one moment..." The entire base goes silent and I'm barely aware of the Commandos that run up behind us to listen for an answer. "They are transmitting Council transponders and one ship in particular I have just detected orbiting the planet is hailing your personal comm channel Scorpio."

I blink in surprise and look behind me to see everyone also a bit shocked. "Uh, patch it through to the monitor." I wait a moment before a command center pops onto scre- "Oh no flippin' way..." I smile instantly.

"Scorpio, it is good to hear you are alive." The relief in her voice is palpable.

"Likewise Matriarch Lidanya, I'm guessing you brought the entire damn Citadel Fleet with you am I right?" I can't hide my shock and happiness that she was here.

She frowns intensely, "No... the Council forbad me from bring the fleet in to protect my home. I told them the Destiny Ascension was an ASARI ship, as such I turned my ship towards Thessia and half the Citadel Fleet decided to come with me out of spite. Espescially after we learned how Tevos denied you support in protecting Thessia after you so clearly explained the situation to her."

"Wait... how did you know Thessia was under attack? Or even about that message?" I ask in suspiscion.

Her frown sharpens, "We picked up the radio silence pretty quickly, the bureaucrats however decided that without more information about what happened no-one could jump in to help out." The malice in her voice cools substantially into a dangerous tone. "That's when I intercepted a message Tevos was sending to you here on Thessia." She watches me for a reaction and I raise an eyebrow to show I never got it. "It outlined how she was sorry for not believing in you at the time and that she needs information on the situation on Thessia to convince the other Councilors to send aid." She shakes her head, "That dull stone even admitted her guilt in the message. I brought it immediately before the Council and gave them a verbal thrashing to get them to wake up. They ignored it."

I scowl furiously, "What?!"

She sighs, "Yes, they did. That's why I'm here, and why I am engaging the other two Cruisers in high orbit around Thessia as we speak."

The sound of fighters flying low over the facility makes me jump slightly, "There's more then one? I mean I suspected but we were kind of in a rush to take this one down so we didn't think about it."

She smirks warmly, "You indeed did what even a Spectre would have thought difficult at the very least. You fought a counter offensive, even though you only have the basics of your biotics covered. I will undoubtedly vouch for you when the time comes, you deserve commendation."

I shake my head, "Not if we don't take back Thessia within the next half hour, there's a slaver convoy en-route, possibly even reinforcements."

"I will do what I can, I still have not forgotten what you did for Mila. She is my everything, it is time to show my gratitude. I will send down a squad of Asari Commandos to aid you in your assault. Your communications are back online as well, Goddess go with you Scorpio." I bow to her as the communication ends. I turn, determination back in my step, to get an update from the Commandos and plan the next phase.

_My personal shit can wait, this war needs to end NOW._

* * *

"Tel watch your ass!" Tel ducks back into cover, panting at how close that rocket had been to killing him outright. He spots Seila to his right, holding the mechs and Eclipse back with the help of Raxus.

_I can't believe they killed the Volus just because he knew the Spectres name. I mean, I know his name, Scorpio knows much more then that._

He freezes as Raxus dives on top of Seila to guard her from some assault fire. Tel's blood starts to boil as he sees them just lay there for a moment too lo- "Tel! Raxus is down! Cover me!"

"What?!" He snaps out of it and franticly fires his pistol over his cover like there's no tomorrow as Seila drags Raxus back into cover.

He yelps as another rocket hits his cover. "Keelah!" He looks out of cover for a moment to spot the rocket turr-

*BOOOOM!*

He dives to the floor and covers his head at the massive sonic boom that shakes the entire landing platform. "KEELAH!" Seila shouts. He looks up to spot the Cruiser hanging above them in low atmo. had fired it's cannon again.

_I don't want to be on the receiving end of those shells. I hope Scorpio is alright._

He closes his eyes and breaths in the sterilized air shakily, he lost everyone but Raxus and Seila so far, including the million credit gunship he borrowed. Mein was going to kill him if they ever survive this hell.

"Get off of me you bosh'tet!" He jumps up, his senses heightened at Seila's distress as he spots her being restrained by two Eclipse. He watches as she struggles with one of them before using her omni-tool to electrocute the Salarian to death and slashing her two-prong omni-blade through the chest of the Asari, killing her instantly.

_Oh Keelah..._

Tel blanches before turning back to fire at the mechs that were still advancing from the base.

_Do I really want to be a Migrant Fleet Marine? I hate killing sentient life. I can't believe my people hate the Geth so much, I'd never tell anyone but I agree with Koris that the Geth were our children, they just learned our own prejudice._

Tel ducks under a spray of bullets before shooting an overload into a mech while shooting two other in the head with lucky shots. They fall to the ground and explode a second later, dead.

_The Geth are just as sentient as we are, there's no reason they should be discriminated against just because of who created them. Koris taught as much to his crew._

He shares a nod with Seila before rushing over ti cover her as she helps Raxus. "No, nononono! Shit!" Tel cringes as he hears the Human curse wo-

*BOOOOM!*

"KEELAH MOTHER OF A VORCHA!" Tel curses wildly and whips his head up to glare as another shot from the Cruiser's cannon shakes the entire area again. "FUCK ALL OF YOU!" He shouts up in anger.

_That's the eighth time that bosh'tet ship scared the Keelah out of me!_

"Raxus!" Seila shouts. Tel whips his head down to find her mourning over Raxus' body.

_Oh Keelah..._

Tel places a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, "He died saving you."

Seila shakes her head and stands to push him away, "Get off of me!" Tel scrambles to catch his balance. "YOU caused this!" He shakes his head in shock at the accusation in her voice.

_I didn't like him, but I never wanted him dead!_

He goes to voice as much, but stops as Seila's body language changes suddenly to extreme calm. "They are all going to die because of this..." She barely whispers. A side door opens up to four Eclipse. Tel watches Seila's fists clench angrily and the rage boil to the surface and burst. "RAAA!" Seila charges forward, wielding a short-blade she kept in her boot, and stabs it directly into the heart of the first Asari.

"Keelah!" Tel raises his gun in shock as the other three Eclipse start firing into the dead Asari in a panicked frenzy. Seila pushes forward, using the body as a meat shield until she gets close. Tel cringes as he hears the squelch of Seila's blade stabbing through the closest Asari's heart. "Oh. Keelah." He gags as she quickly pulls it out and tosses her mangled meat shield towards the next Asari to distract her. Tel quickly fires at the last one, a Commando as she tries to ready her biotics. His rapid shots pierce the staggered Asari's shields and kill her quickly.

"Yah!" Seila's short-blade slices quickly, decapitating the last Asari, showering the area in a fountain of blood.

Tel nearly passes out as he watches Seila shrug off the gore and wipe her blade off on the Commando's leathers before sheathing it. Not caring about how her entire suit was now stained purple from the blood.

_I think I'm going to be sick... I can't be a marine, not if this is what they do constantly._

*BOOOOM!*

This time Tel looks up at the sky, "Keelah!" Seila looks up as well and they watch as a fiery explosion covers one side of the Cruiser before dissipating, the shot flaring the shields in a violent shade of blue. "Someone's firing at it!" Tel screams over the deafening sounds of the engines firing over them.

"Oh my-"

*KABOOOM!*

The entire area lights up as the cruiser turns abruptly, tearing itself in half and stunning the two surviving Quarians into silence as they watch the monstrosity start to fall apart over them.

_What is Scorpio doing..._

Another serious of explosions ignite the eezo core, detonating the entire side above them into shrapnel and propelling the rest of the ship away from directly above them to crash down to Thessia in an audible splash. Waves of water shoot up into the sky to douse a small portion of the flames as the rest of the ship falls directly into the Ocean that borders the city. "He actually did it..." Seila breaths in absolute shock. Tel can't even think after watching such a massive ship be destroyed by ONE shot.

_What the Keelah did they fire at it?_

The silence that follows is filled with the subtle sounds of small explosions echoing from the city behind them, then Tel looks up at the sound of an approaching gunship to see it coming in for a landing. "Seila!" She grabs her shotgun and they ready to meet whoever came out of the ship as it touches down.

The compartment opens to five Asari in Commando leathers and another wearing dark blue armor with white facial tattoos making her equally blue skin. They spot Tel and Seila, but it's the outlier of the group that walks forward, every step oozing confidence and superiority, "I'm Tela'Vasir Special Tactics and Recon, what's going on here?"

Tel and Seila blink in shock for a moment, not letting their guard down.

_A Spectre?_

Tel sighs in absolute relief, "Oh thank all the gods of the galaxy! We were holding out against the Eclipse mercs and took heavy los-"

Tela cuts him off with a raised hand, "I can see that, who's in charge of the counter assault? The one who took out the Cruiser?" She points her thumb behind her and at the sinking wreckage that was still on fire.

Tel stares at her in shock from how calm she was with all of this.

_Keelah! A CRUISER just EXPLODED practically on top of us and she's not even worried?! I knew Spectres were tough but even I would have thought they'd be at least surprised by that!_

"Uh..." He looks over to share a silent conversation with Seila before continuing, "I guess Scorpio would be the one in charge of the counter-strike. We don't know anyone else who'd be... insane enough to attempt it." Tel lowers his pistol as Seila keeps her shotgun up just-in-case.

Tela raises a tattooed eyebrow in question, "I've never heard of this person, who are they?"

Seila speaks for the first time, her previous anger and frustration still in her voice, "First we want to know why you are here!"

Tela doesn't show any emotion on her face, but her voice drops an octave as she says, "To protect my home against my direct orders from the Council. Matriarch Lidanya's risking her position as Commander of the Destiny Ascension by leading this assault and came in with over half of the Citadel fleet. Lets hope it's enough to kick the Eclipse off the planet for good." Their conversation is cut off as three Asari frigates fly into low orbit to start dropping troop transports across the city, fighter escorts taking out enemy bombers as they go. Seila finally lowers her shotgun to look around at the still falling pieces of debris that practically bombarded the Eclipse base right next to them.

"Well, I think it's time I met this 'Scorpio' for myself." Tela announces suddenly, a smirk curling her lips wickedly.

Tel and Seila share a look before Seila shouts, "Wait! Your just going to leave us?!"

They watch as Tela is the last to board the gunship before she turns to say, "Yep." as the doors shut and seal. Tel gawks while Seila swears under her breath at the departing gunship.

_What just happened?_

Tel looks at Seila with concern for their safety and Seila just glares at the gunship in response.

_This is not going to end well._

*ding*

Seila looks down and starts typing on her omni-tool, "That stupid Bosh'tet!"

"What?" Tel asks.

Seila furiously waves her arms and shouts, "The mech control signal just hopped from the APC building to right behind those blast doors!" Tel freezes as he turn to look at the entrance to the Eclipse Base they were trying to assault.

"Keelah..."

"You damn right Keelah!" Seila squeaks.

Tel opens his mouth to speak-

"Engaging."

"Son of a bitch!" Seila screams as they both whip around to see an entire army of a hundred mechs marching up the slight incline towards the base.

"RUN!" Tel shouts.

They bolt it towards the base before nearly slamming into the blast doors. Seila pounds on the thick metal once in annoyance, "Damn it!"

Tel looks to the right and jumps forward to rip off a panel and start manually overriding the door controls. "Just give be a few seconds!"

Seila drags over a piece of armor plating the just happened to land next to the door and props it up to cover them. "Just be quick! I just spotted twelve YMIR's!"

_Oh shit, oh shit, shit shit shit! Faster! Faster!_

Tel's hands expertly dive to and from his pockets to gather the needed materials while quickly splicing the necessary circuits and wires to reset the security system. "Hurry up!" Seila throws their last grenade into the crowd.

Tel hears over ten mechs die from the grenade and calls, "Nice throw!"

"Just get the fucking door open! *BLAM BLAM BLAM*"

_Careful... careful..._

"GOT IT!" The blast door opens up just a crack, enough for them to squeeze through before he hits the parallel control with an overload, forcing the system into lockdown. "Keelah that was close." He breaths.

"Hold on one second." Seila walks over to the panel and interfaces with it before walking back over to where Tel stood patiently, "There, now even if the Eclipse do manage to kill us their trapped inside with us."

Tel wrings his wrists uncomfortably, "Uh... why would we want that? Are we trapped too?"

_I'm claustrophobic, which is REALLY bad if your a Quarian._

"Don't worry, I just downloaded a cycling lock Scorpio gave me in-case of emergencies. Only Scorpio and me have the necessary security password to take it out of the two second code recycle." Seila pats him on the arm empathetically since she knows how he hates enclosed spaces. "Come on, we've got mechs to deactivate."

*beep*

They both look down at Seila's back-up Terra 7 glow purple with a new message. Seila and Tel share a look before she taps the display, excepting the video call. "Seila, are you alright?" Scorpio's bloodied and tired face fills the small screen, concern evident in his darkened eyes.

Seila blinks twice, "Tel is with me, Raxus is dead and we're trapped in the Eclipse base where the back-up mech servers are pinging from."

Scorpio frowns, his eyes adopting a determination that Tel had only seen in once before, in his former captain during a bad Batarian raid. "Stay there! I'll grab anyone I can and meet you there!"

"Thank you, oh and some Spectre Bosh'tet left us here to go find you so watch yourself." Seila states angrily.

"She's standing next to me, but thanks for the warning." Scorpio glares to his left before looking back at the screen, "Scorpio out." The call ends.

"Keelah..." Tel breaths. Seila nods in agreement.

* * *

I sigh after the call ends and rub my forehead in agitation at the ongoing shit storm I have to deal with.

_Raxus... I'm so sorry, but it's not time to mourn just yet, not with an entire planet still occupied._

I turn to glare at Tela angrily, "Well?"

She meets my glare with a look of indifference, "Well... what?"

I feel myself start to growl as my rage starts to build up again, "Are you going to help save Tel and Seila as well as take out that server, or are you just going to abandon us as well?" I try very hard to keep my voice balanced.

_I hate it when my people are betrayed and left for dead._

Before Tela can respond, "We are ready to assist, Scorpio." her and Benesia's Commandos answer for themselves. "We're ready for some payback, Sir." Rila comments to the right of them. I don't look directly at her, if we locked eyes she'd see the horror in my own and collapse. I can't let that happen yet. I nod to them appreciatively and look to Tela expectantly.

She frowns for the first time since she arrived, "I'll help out if Saren helps out. He is the senior Spectre here after all."

I look across the command center to look at the arguing couple. Nihlus' arms flying adamantly while Saren points his talons accusingly in disappointment. I shake my head and call over to them. "Hey!" But they ignore me in favor of arguing.

"How could I have even found you in time?! You weren't even conscious until this morning!" Nihlus shouts.

Saren growls, "Your own incompetence is showing in strides, even a Human could have found out my location!"

"Your prejudice towards Humanity is blinding you from the truth! Everyone here owes Scorpio their lives! Including you." Nihlus points a talon in Saren's face, "Not only did he trust you enough to let you fight with the resistance, but he lead an entire counter-assault with nothing but a few gunships and a dozen soldiers up against a PLANETARY INVASION! Scorpio deserves your respect Saren!"

Saren swats the talon away and glares at Nihlus dangerously, "You are coming very close to being a disgrace to our kind Nihlus, you will remember your place or I will make sure you are expunged from the Spectres!"

"Hey!" I shout for the tenth time. Nihlus looks at me for a moment before turning back to Saren.

"I don't think you understand your own place Saren. Scorpio is one of my closest friends, and you do not control who enters or leaves the Spectres! Only the Council can decide!" Nihlus shouts back. I face-palm and mutter, "The Council are morons if they allow such obvious bigots within the Spectre's ranks." Unfortunately Saren hears me.

"You see! He mocks the leaders of Galactic Authority! He is nothing more then an ungrateful sub-citizen scrambling to gain power he has no idea how to control! Humanity will NEVER learn their place if we allow apologists into our ranks!" Saren shouts defiantly.

Nihlus clenches his fists and I hear a dangerously low growl coming from his throat as he gets up in Saren's face, "You will apologize to Scorpio for your disrespect or I will make your life a living hell Saren..." I stare at Nihlus in appreciative shock.

_Damn Nihlus! I didn't know you had that in you!_

Saren's eyes narrow, his stubbornness overpowering any reason from where I'm standing. "No."

The entire room tenses up as Nihlus grabs his pistol and backs up a foot to aim it at Saren as he does the same with his own. I stare at them in shock and jump between them. "Hold it! God damn it what the SPIRITS do you two think you're doing!"

"Move out of the way Scorpio, this bastard deserves the bullet after all he's done!" Nihlus shouts. I keep my hand up and try to access my biotics to build a barrier, but fail, I'm still too weak.

"I'll gladly kill you to get at him Human." Saren growls out.

"I'd like to see you try." We all look behind Saren to see everyone but Tela aiming their weapons and charged biotics at Saren, Rila at the head of the group with a furious protectiveness beaming in her blue eyes.

_That is enough!_

"THIS IS INSANITY!" Everyone looks at me in shock as I rip the pistols from both the Turian's grasp and toss them to the floor. They start to argue but I'll have none of it. "SHUT UP! Both of you are acting like pups while an entire planet burns around us! We have no fucking time for this!"

"Scorpio, Saren is going to tr-" I cut Nihlus off.

"I don't give a fucking flying Turian's ass what he's going to do!" He gawks at me. "Both of you are trained to be Spectres! Fucking act like it and shut the hell up! I have had enough to deal with during this bullshit invasion to add your petty disagreements to the pile of Varren shit I have to sift through to save the Asari homeworld from ruin!" Everyone gawks at me as I rant. "Do you two even KNOW how stressful all this is for me?! I have had to deal with Councilors denying my worries, Assassin's trying to kill Nihlus, fucking Cruisers firing at buildings I'm inside trying to evacuate survivors, an army of soulless fucking Varren trying to chew my legs off while I move ancient machinery parts bioticly, trying to tell my best friend that I love her, and my own mind ripping itself apart due to the fact I have no fucking idea how I ended up on Thessia in the first place!" I stop to pant for a moment to catch my breath. "We are going to end this once and for all, we are going to fucking ignore our difference of opinions and fucking destroy that mech server so I can sit the hell down and figure out what the hell is wrong with my mind! And so help me if any one of you argue or complain before it's done I'll bioticly turn you inside out and feed you to my lead engineer!" I stomp past them all with a short wave for them to follow me towards the landing platform.

_I have had enough of this! I am going to slaughter every single thing in that fucking Eclipse base, get back to my apartment if it's still even there anymore, and pouring myself the biggest glass of Winter-blend brandy I can find!_

I kick the release for the door and nearly tear it off the gunship as I stomp inside and sit down to start meditating.

_I'll need my biotics for what's coming up next I'm sure._

"Scorpio?" I crack open one of my eyes to see Rila stepping inside hesitantly.

I sigh in frustration and lower the small ball of biotic energy I managed to create. "I'm sorry you had to see that. This entire situation is just..." I close my eyes for a moment to seal away any emotions that might break me. "It's been hell, and I'm... so sorry I yelled at everyone, it isn't their fault. It wasn't Nihlus' either, or Saren's." I feel her sit down in front of me, but I'm ashamed to look at her. "Why am I so strange? Why can't I just... be normal for once."

"Dylan." I barely hear her whisper at all. I look up to see her smiling with tears in her eyes.

_Oh no._

"Rila I'm so sorry, it was just an outburst. I didn-"

"You love me?" I stare at her, confused for a moment before remembering my rant and blinking.

_Oh crap._

"I..." Say you don't love her! Say she deserves someone who won't put her in danger! She couldn't love someone like you! She could never love someone... who's going insane.

"Please, tell me if you love me. I'll understand it if you don't, I'm so messed up and you- you should be with someone who's as great as you." I stare at her in shock.

_She... thinks SHE'S messed up?!_

I laugh uncontrollably. "You, haha, think you're- hahahaha!"

She frowns sadly, "What's so funny?"

I look at her and stop laughing as I see the hurt in her eyes. "No, no I do, I love you so much it hurts not knowing if you're alright or not." I scoot forwards and take her grit-covered gloved hands in my own, "I just thought I was the fucked up one in this relationship." I smile at her surprised expression.

"No... your perfect! You're gentle and kind to those who deserve it, your morally just, funny all the time, but serious when you need to be." I nearly feel the pure emotion in her voice as she speaks, almost like she put her heart into each word.

"Rilana, I'm diagnosibly psychologically insane, the only Natural Human Biotic in the galaxy ever, my main engineer likes torturing people for fun, I run a company that employees Quarians, my Secretary is a TURIAN... do I need to go on?" She giggles. "I'm much more insane then you are, sorry to say. You're not even in my league of insanity." I shake my head.

I feel her hand cup my cheek and look up to stare into her wonderful sharp blue eyes happily. "Dylan, shut up and kiss me." My eyes widen for a second before I ablidge her happily.

Our split lips slam roughly together in a mixture of relief and passion I cannot even describe. The kiss doesn't last long, but it leaves the taste of blood and grime in both our mouths that we ignore as we smile and just sit there basking in the wonderful emotions being together and alive gave us.

A soft knock against the bulkhead breaks us from our silent contentment. "Scorpio? Everyone's ready for take-off... we're just waiting for you two to finish up so we can find a seat." Nihlus smirks at us in a strange way that makes us blush violently.

"Oh, well... we can wait until after the suicide mission is complete I guess." Rila nods in agreement and stands up to give me a hand. I take it gladly and groan at my aching muscles as I sit down with her near the front. "Damn... I need some painkillers." I say through my teeth as the sharp burning along my spine hits me like a ton of bricks. Rila takes a pill bottle out of one of her pockets and shakes two green pills into my palm, "Here take these, they help dull the pain from biotic overloads while keeping you focused. Matriarchs use them a lot." I down the pills gladly and turn to ask her how long it would take for them to take effe-

"Holy mother of a Volus." I blink as everything sharpens, like I'm on an Adrenaline high. All my pain dissolves into a dull tingling. Not entirely gone, but enough to keep me fighting. Rila giggles at my reaction. "Damn, where the hell did you get those!"

"My mother, she makes sure I'm well stocked." I nod absentmindedly while I explore what NOT being in constant pain feels like.

_It's been what, thirty-forty hours since all this started? Have I really been in pain that long? Damn... and I've only been fighting for a few hours..._

Nihlus sits with Tela across from us while Saren and the leader of the Commando's take the last seats. "Coordinates are clear from what Seila sent." Nihlus states plainly as our gunship takes off. "It looks like the quickest option is a frontal assault." He throws up a holo-map on the floor and puts a marker at the entrance to the base.

"It looks more like a bunker." Tela adds while examining the specs on her own dark-blue omni-tool.

I bring it up on mine as well and sigh as I see how many fortifications are in place. "It'll be a slaughter if we don't keep our barriers in check. We should assign specific personnel to run barrier support alone. I'm not going to lose anymore people for simple cannon-fodder. We can't afford it with such a big underground complex."

"Exactly." Rila smiles at me in agreement and I return it.

_It really is great having her at my side._

"If any of you care about what I have to say, I'd suggest orbital support." Saren says from his corner.

The Asari Commando frowns at him, "Ariel bombardment would compromise the entire facility, destroying valuable information that could lead us to whoever helped orchestrate this invasion." Saren pouts and crosses his arms to sulk. I almost laugh at the sight.

_No points for Saren, how sad._

"So we have to find another way to take out the hundreds of mechs no-doubt guarding the place." Rila says while frowning at the holo-map before us.

"Hmm..." I rub my chin in contemplation.

"You got something Scorpio?" Tela asks with a surprisingly up-beat mood.

_I'll take whatever she's having._

"Well... Aethyta and I have been practicing something during my studies that... might be useful." I look at her nervously, it was going to be insanely dangerous, as well as very very stupid considering I'd never even attempted it before.

"Well... spit it out already Human. What brilliant plan do you have?" Saren growls from his corner.

I smirk at him, "Oh... nothing special, just ABI."

Rila, Tela and the Commando all pale instantly.

Nihlus frowns in confusion.

Saren's eyes widen and he stares at me in shock, "You ARE insane..."

* * *

A/N :D Just an AWESOME chapter to make up for the delay right? What do you guys/gals think about Scorpio's 'lost year'? Were you wondering why Scorpio had a bum leg when he woke up? Or why he was in a park of all things? Give me your opinions on who you think orchestrated the invasion! Any feedback is positive feedback. :)

Also for anyone who likes a dark yet strange story about Tevinter Magisters in the Dragon Age Universe, check out Sinister Attraction a new short story I just published! :)

Lastly, I lost my notes I took to create the Legacy Codex, so it'll be a bit longer then I would like before it's ready for the public. Nihlus' crazy return to Thessia is also delayed a small bit. :/


	20. ABI

A/N It's at the Bottom this time.

Read, Review (PLEASE), and Enjoy! :)

* * *

"You have GOT to be screwing with me!" Saren yelps as he stares down a two hundred meter drop to the planet's surface.

Scorpio shrugs, "It's the best plan we have."

"Yeah but does it involve us DYING?!" Saren stares at a frigate that just decided to fly UNDERNEATH them to drop off some more troops and help with the resistance.

"Quit being a baby Saren!" Scorpio carefully stands behind the Turian and gets ready to shove.

"Spirits be damned if I'm go- wha-? AHHHH!" Saren screams as Scorpio pushes him bioticly out of the open cargo door of the gunship.

Scorpio bursts out laughing as Saren starts plummeting to the planet surface below. "God I've always wanted to do that!" He then takes the dive while holding hands with Rila, both of them laughing as they go.

Tela and the Asari Commando look at Nihlus wickedly. "OH NO! NONONONONO! I'm NOT going to do THAT! I'm not even a biotic!" They shrug it off before smiling and walking off the edge of the ramp one after the other without a second thought.

"Oh, fuck..." Nihlus takes one last look at the drop before hitting the door release. "I am SO glad I'm not a biotic, that is just insane..." He mutters before walking up to the cock-pit to tell the pilot to make a sweep of the parameter just-in-case something goes wrong.

* * *

Ariel Biotic Insertion: The use of higher-manageable biotics to rapidly slow an individual's descent to a planetary surface. Most commonly used by the Asari Huntresses in stealth-oriented missions on planets with a minimal trace atmosphere. Originally introduced as a possible alternative to the use of personal parachutes during the destruction of a ship or troop transport in relatively low atmosphere, later adopted by the Armali Academy of the Huntress as basic training for standard units. It is not advised that an individual use this above one hundred meters off the surface of a planet, as unskilled individuals could easily loose their concentration and end up plummeting to the planetary surface.

Inter-Planetary Fallout procedure F-9: The theoretical possibility of surviving planet-fall, or the falling from outside a planet's atmosphere to it's surface, has been theoretically proven by Asari Matriarch Aethyta when she personally took a dare that entailed her jumping out of an air-lock as their shuttle arrived over Thessia in (Translated to 1742 CE). Any planetary 'jumper' is advised to use this protocol when 'leaping' from a height above one hundred meters above the planetary surface

(See Matriarch Parthia's 'Planetary Leap Equation' to properly judge the distance to gravity ratio required to determine which 'style' is appropriate.)

I put down the datapad and stare at Aethyta in amazement for a second or two before saying, "You actually SURVIVED Planet-fall?!"

She laughs, "So that's what you've been reading this entire time. Yep, first and last Asari to do it willingly. You can tell your grandkids that your biotic teacher was a badass."

I laugh and shake my head, making a note to keep studying this protocol just in-case I get the chance to 'take the dive' with Shepard when the Normandy blows up.

* * *

"Oh fucking shit!" I turn my body to the left and spread my arms out to slow my descent naturally like Rila and everyone but Saren is doing around me.

_Ok, maybe this was a bad idea, but there's no other way to get onto the landing platform without blowing up!_

"Saren you need to calm the hell down and pull up!" Tela yells over out comm-link. I look down to see Saren starting to roll.

_Oh no._

"Tela, you and me on Saren, now!" We both dive our bodies through the whipping (and quite refreshing) winds towards Saren as his panicked breathing blares in our ears.

"Saren shut the hell up and bend your legs outwards, then arc your body so your spine is bending back!" I shout the instructions Aethyta left in her notes and watch as Saren struggles with his arms, still panicking.

"Dull stone." I would have laughed at the annoyance in Tela's voice if this wasn't serious, if Saren doesn't correct soon he'll lose that window of opportunity to flare his biotics and end up plummeting, then bye-bye Mass Effect One story plot, hello random shit that forces us to lose this cycle and get wiped out by the Reapers.

"God damn it, Tela help me with this clueless bastard!" She nods from behind her sealed helmet to my right and we dive again, right up to the back of Saren as he FINALLY levels out.

_He's still panicking._

I latch onto his belt and Tela does the same to his right. "AH GET IT OFF OF ME!" He starts kicking at both of us and starts tumbling again. I SWEAR TO GOD I nearly let go just to end this guy's miserable life before Tela stabbed something into his suit. Saren instantly calms down, and I mean CALM, not complaining, not-

_Oh shit._

I glare at Tela as she grabs hold of Saren's unconscious body. "God damn it Tela you should have used Adrenaline! Now we have to-"

"WINDOW!"

I yelp and latch onto Saren as I flare my biotics and stabilize the three of us with Tela's help until we all let go and roll, well Saren is more of a splat-tumble, over the VERY hard concrete and into crouching positions as we tried to recover before the hundred mechs around us snap out of the initial shock of Commando's dropping from the sky.

"Holy flaming muck-flippers that was-" Tela looks over at me in confusion before I jump up and shout, "-Fucking AWESOME! Oh man I want to do that again!"

_Aethyta you are an amazing teacher._

I hear Rila and the Commando leader land (I really need to figure out her name) right behind us. I turn only to catch Rila as she tumbles forwards at a slightly higher speed than safe. I balance my biotics to avoid landing on my back and she gasps at suddenly stopping before looking up and blushing that I was holding her.

"Come on we got to move!" Tela shouts as she kicks a nearby mech to the ground with an impressive display of Asari martial arts before bioticly stomping the head into dust and throwing the body into a group of recovering mechs to blow up, tossing them into their buddies.

"Formation Alpha T'sari!" The Commando shouts, I know the formation by heart since Aethyta forced me to over-work myself in every subject there is to study. Even the ones I'm not supposed to learn for school credit in my first year, like ABI.

_I'll have to remind myself to thank her later._

I jump into the middle and throw up a large Biotic Dome while Tela and the Commando take the charge with Rila as support-backup just-in-case I'm taken down as Barrier-Keeper. Unfortunately this would only work if Saren wasn't unconscious, now I had to double as field-medic with Rila to keep Saren's person from leaving the Barrier.

"God damn it your fucking heavy!" I shout as I drag Saren another eight feet bioticly while the mechs keep firing at the barrier Rila was barely keeping up.

A YMIR mech gets a bit too close for comfort so I jump up and blast it onto it's back with a wall of biotic energy while Tela jumps up and shouts as she smashes her fist THROUGH the armored head of the hulking Titan. I jump back up to shore-up the barrier with Rila just in time for it to blow a nice hole into the sea of mechs that surrounded us.

"Good job Tela remind me to ask you where you learned that when this is over!" I shout as we get back up and start blasting another wave of the machines from hell.

_Seriously how many did the Eclipse build for fuck's sake?!_

I catch her smirk out of the corner of my eye, "Sure, I learned it from punching a bunch of handsy bastards in night-clubs on Omega!" I turn to stare at her as she rips a mech in half with her biotics.

"Dylan." I snap out of it as Rila nearly bumps into me. I look up and quickly jump in as Barrier-Keeper from her exhaustion. "Thanks."

"No problem love." I nearly stumble as I hear my own words but Rila just smiles and goes to drag Saren another few feet.

This pattern continues on for about ten more minutes before I trip over a dead mech's leg and split my face open on the cement ground. Everything happens so fast, I'm down, Rila shouts out as a bullet grazes her, Tela's blasted back by a rocket, the Commando is throwing up a compact barrier to keep us safe for a few more seconds as five YMIR's surround us.

"I'm... not ready to die yet." I shake away my daze and ignore the three bullets I knew I took when I tripped. "Tela!" I turn her over to see her mid-section shredded, her armor took most of the damage, but a long gash still stood where the rocket hitjust under her left breast. "Hold still." She whimpers and clutches Rila's hand as I have to pull out a five inch piece of shrapnel before slathering medi-gel on the wound and going back to throw up the best Barrier I can with the Commando.

"We need air support!" Rila shouts as she helps Tela back to her feet.

_Damn she's one tough son of a bitch. She's a Spectre. I know._

The Commando calls up her omni-tool as Tela body-slams-

_Oh wait, no that was a biotic charge!_

Tela charges into one of the mechs just as Rila throws a warp onto it, blowing apart the armor and allowing Tela's fist to fly through the mech's head faster then I thought possible.

"Pheonix One we need air support now!" The Commando shouts desperately.

"Can't do that, the anti-air cannons are hectic around here!" Nihlus' muffled voice answers back.

The YMIR explodes, putting pressure on my barrier, causing a flare of pain to shoot up my spine, "AH!" I barely catch myself from falling to my knees in shock.

_What in the hell was that?!_

**YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE.**

It feels like someone kicks me in the gut as I struggle to keep the barrier up.

"I don't care! WE NEED AIR SUPPORT!" The Commando nearly screams back. I barely hear Nihlus swear before an explosion hits the barrier on our left. I can feel my eye-sight starting to blur as I see twenty mechs torn apart with ease.

_Yes!_

Then a low boom sounds above us and the screams of Nihlus and the pilot fill our helmets.

_No..._

I fall to the ground, nearly exhausted, but still fighting to keep my weak barrier up as the rest of the squad fights to keep us from being surrounded. I cough up a mouthful of blood, but don't spit it out, I swallow it in defiance and scream out as the pain finally ignites my Biotic Rage. "RAAHH!" Everything after that comes back to me in just flashes.

Tela's rifle barking as I lift eight mechs and let Rila detonate them bioticly.

My foot getting shot by a mech as my barriers go down and how I somehow ignore it to tear the mech apart and chuck it sky-ward.

Rila pulling Nihlus, still alive, from the burning wreckage of the gunship.

All of us watching as the Pilot sacrifices her life to destroy the last four YMIR's by detonating the drive core of the Gunship.

Someone screaming my name as I feel something grab me from behind and yank me away from a rocket explosion.

Fighting through corridors filled with Eclipse troopers, no sight of the battle ending anytime soon.

I think I come out of my rage when we finally shut down the anti-air cannons, letting the rest of our people land. I collapse onto the ground instantly. "Scorpio!" I lay there on my back as I see red in the corners of my eyes.

_I know I'm dying, I know the end is near..._

**BECAUSE I DEMAND IT.**

I snarl at the voice in my head and squeeze Rila's tighter to show I'm still here.

I can hear people arguing over whether to leave me behind or help get me back to safety. I audibly scoff, catching everyones attention as I force myself to sit up, "Safety? No-one is safe if they win." I clench my teeth as I stand, still bleeding badly from the many bullets I took during my Rage.

Rila and Tela start to argue about my health and I have had enough of it. "WE are going to kill them."

They stop to look at me. I let them see the pure hatred and anger that fuels me to keep going, the deviance that's burning in my mind to not let HIM win and they wince under my gaze. "Slap some medigel on my lazy ass and lets move out." I can't even think straight at this point, just one thing keeping my heat beating, one thing keeping me from succumbing from my wounds, a will to survive.

It takes five minutes to identify and patch up all the wounds on me once the second team arrives with the medigel, afterwards I'm numb, thats not just because of the thin layer of medigel that's slathered all over my body, no I actually think I lost my sense of touch. Every time I get hit after that point it's like someone poked me, nothing hurts. I know I take bullets when my barrier goes down but I just... don't stop firing until the enemy is dead and we can move on. I can see the worry in the other's eyes, no-one is supposed to be able to take so many bullets and survive, NO ONE is supposed to be able to keep going after overloading their biotics, NO ONE is supposed to survive what I'm surviving...

* * *

_I feel my bones, it's a bit sickening but I can FEEL it when they crack, when they mend, when my skin heals moments after getting shot. NO ONE can do that. NO ONE but maybe a Krogan can regenerate tissue as fast as I was. I'm numb, and I'm enjoying it._

We make it to the central chamber and I look around quickly before jumping into cover as a sniper round hits my leg. I look down and see the bone with my eyes, the missing armor there, the missing flesh. I watch in a mixture of disgust and fascination as the bone kinks back into place and a rough patch of skin molds around thin wires that pull the ripped pieces of skin back into place for mending.

_I'm not Human._

**YOU ARE MINE**

I ignore the voice and turn at the sound of a small explosion to find the squad had moved forwards, leaving me behind to mend. I look down and the skin is back, flawless as if nothing happened. I don't blink and just jump up and blast another Eclipse trooper apart with a powerful warp I used to struggle with, but now it was easy to create.

_I'm not Human._

The last enemy dies and Rila, Tela and I stack up at the back office that controlled the servers the mechs across the city responded to. Tel kneels to unlock the door. I blink at him for a moment, taking in the cracked faceplate, the new patches from bullets he took, the shard of metal still sticking out of his leg, but was at least sealed off to avoid further contamination.

_Huh..._

The door opens and I raise my sniper rife to meet the eyes of a Batarian in Eclipse armor holding Seila hostage. "Don't come any-" I fire and it bullet shatters his shoulder, severing a nerve that I shouldn't know about that controls muscle movement in his entire arm, instantly he drops the pistol and falls back against the wall in shock. Seila stands there, everyone stands there staring, I don't know what to tell them.

_I'm not Human._

**YOU ARE MY PET**

_I'm inclined to believe nothing you say._

**IS THAT CORRECT?**

_Yes._

Tela hauls the Batarian away for trial for over a hundred acts of terrorism around Thessia and I finally sit down in one of the chairs left in the small office.

_I'm not Human._

Rila tentatively sits down next to me and I watch her move as she does, accounting for injuries only a trained surgeon should truly know about, I feel sick that HIS knowledge and actions are helping me.

We sit in silence for a bit. Just trying to find out what to say. I'm the first to speak, "I'm tired." Rila looks at me and we lock eyes, I know she's tired too. "Want to go back to my apartment and see whats left?"

"What about the slavers?"

I shake my head and repeat myself slowly, "I'm tired." I internally wince at how dead my voice is. "They can handle getting blown up by the Citadel Fleet by themselves."

Rila gawks at me for a second before blinking and agreeing.

I stand up, somehow keeping myself from groaning at the pain it causes, and help Rila to her feet.

_I'm not Human._

We walk out pretty easily, finding a working gunship was the hard part. "Over there, I see Mein." I look at where Rila is pointing and indeed see Mein and her team gathering mech parts for future study.

I lead us over since Rila can barely stand, "How's the-" She stops as she sees me and Rila's states. "Keelah... you two look worse then the time I tortured a Vorcha into eating his own arm off to escape." I ignore the fact that what she said doesn't make sense and start walking us to her gunship, "We're going back to my apartment." I say it like its a command and surprisingly she quickly obliges.

* * *

Rila passes out within five minutes, but I can't close my eyes, if I close them I see everything I was forced to do. "Scorpio?" I blink and look at Mein blankly as she sits across from us. "Your eye is glowing." I look at the reflective surface next to my head.

_Huh... it is glowing... like a dull blue light right on the edge of my iris'..._

I realize something disturbing and whip my head back to Mein, "Mein I need you to do something for me."

She shifts slightly, "What do you want me to do?"

"A bio-scan, something to detect cybernetics."

"Right now?" She asks incredulously.

"Yes."

…

…

…

"Alright?" She blinks twice before bringing up her omni-tool to my face and doing a scan of my head first. Then my arms one by one. Then my legs one by one. Afterwards we set Rila onto her side and do the rest of my body. "Alright." She pulls back her omni-tool and looks over the data with wide eyes.

_I'm not Human._

"S-Scorpio?" I watch her blankly, I already know what they said. "Your- I can't believe I'm saying this."

She struggles with the words for a while before I say it for her, "I'm not Human." She shakes her head slowly with wide eyes. "What about my brain?"

She looks down for a moment before saying, "It- it looks like..." She shifts uncomfortably, "Your sure your alive?" I actually blink at her this time. "Because this says that most of your brain functions are- well- shut down." She turns the screen towards me and I have the first glimpse of what that sicko that kidnapped me did to me.

Black spots outweigh the firing parts of my brain, mostly the frontal lobe and inner-brain remain intact, the other parts like the Temporal and Parietal Lobes are black or barely lit up. She taps to another layer and shows intricate weaves of thin wires separated by mere micrometers all across my body, the cybernetic weave that's keeping me alive. Another layer shows how nearly half of my organs have been tampered with or replaced by synthetic or artificial components. I look to my brain again with a basic scan to check for anything obstructing the basic functions and find the blacked out areas were not only not firing, but riddled with the same cybernetic tissue present all over my body.

_I'm not Human._

I have her pan out the scan and show my nervous system, its not only just what Jeilus said, over active, but it wasn't natural at all. Every live of neural connections were firing in sync, meaning that they weren't organic. "Show my heart."

She shows it to me and I'm not surprised, just disturbed. It's artificial, how couldn't it be since I died with a knife to the heart. "Your 18% synthetic, as well as what the Quarian's call a-" She stops to look at the ceiling for a moment. "Your actually not organic in your mind." She shifts to look at me fully. "Your what my people call a 'half-life' maybe Humans have a better way to describe it but most of your brain has been removed and replaced by synthetic parts." I stare at her, not letting it sink in. "Your-" I stop her as I remember something about the Alliance forbidding this type of technology, saying that anyone that was like, well, me...  
"I'm not Human..." She watches me as I mull over the words. "I'm Trans-Human." She nods. And I sit back to rest my head against the cool bulkhead.

_I'm not Human... I'm Trans-Human._

I just think about it for a moment, trying to just let it sink in.

…

But it doesn't...

"I'm not Human." I repeat for what feels like the hundredth time. "I don't feel any different, send over the results and delete your copy, I don't want this to be public." Mein nods in agreement and does what I ask.

"You aren't any different Scorpio." Mein states calmly when she finishes.

I look at her blankly, "Who else can do this." I take my dagger and slash a cut through my palm, wincing at the slight sting of pain I feel from it. It clots and heals with ease, maybe a minute later and there's not even a scar. She stares at me without emotion and we go back to silence.

_I'm Trans-Human._

* * *

I carry Rila out of the gunship and hop through the shattered window in the living room to set her down on the couch before waving to Mein as she departs. I sigh and walk into the kitchen, not caring that the place looks ran-sacked.

_Looters._

I look over the bits of scraps they left in the fridge and see they were courteous enough to leave a bottle of Asari wine and some left-over fish. I grab them and toss the fish in the microwave of the future and uncorking the bottle of wine. I move around a bunch of broken glass in the cupboard thats hanging to the side and find two glasses survived.

_Huh, lucky._

The microwave beeps and I step over the broken glass on the floor to get at it. I bring the wine, two glasses, one fork I found, and the plate of fish to the surprisingly pristine coffee table and pour two glasses of wine as I sit down next to Rila's feet. I use the edge of the fork to cut the one serving of fish in half and take a bit of the chewy and expired fish into my mouth...

…

_And I can't taste it._

I sigh before washing it down with some wine and taking another bite.

_I wonder if they left my holo-projector intact._

"LIA?" I wait for her program to download itself from the back-ups since I accidentally left her at the AA Cannon.

"Yes Scorpio?" I smile at the familiar voice before washing down the old fish with more wine and sitting back with the half-empty glass.

"Activate the holo-projector and search for something... old. Maybe a movie." Instantly the wall to my left lights up with a blurry image of some bad Turian war movie... but it's oddly not that horrible since the story is about their mythical age. "Huh, I never knew a Turian could swing a Spear like that."

* * *

Hours later the movie is done and Rila stirs from beside me as the credits roll. She slowly sits up, rubbing her head. She yawns before blinking her sleep away and taking in her surroundings, "Hey you." I smile as she looks at me in surprise.

She blushes for bit before asking, "What happened?"

"Mein flew us home and then went off to do more important stuff. I made some dinner." I wave to the empty bottle of wine and full glass of wine that sat next to the cold fish and my empty glass. Rila blinks at it before her stomach growls and she immediately starts to eat the slippery disgusting fish just to keep herself from dying of hunger. I rub her back when she finishes and we just sit there... oblivious to the explosions going off in the clouds above us as we watch the Thessian sunset illuminate the broken and burning city that we both called our home.

* * *

"Oh..." I grip my pounding head as I wake up.

_When did we fall asleep last night?_

I look around and see Rila and I were still in my- OUR apartment. I smile at the thought, before remembering what forced us to confess our love.

_Oh for fuck's sake my head hurts..._

I rub my head and try to not look at anything bright. "Your awake." I look up and see Nihlus sitting in his chair and Tela and Saren in the kitchen... doing something.

_Gah! Why does my head hurt so much?!_

I spot the empty bottle of wine still sitting on the coffee table and groan quietly.

_Ok, so THIS is what a hang-over feels like. Well... I've felt worst..._

"About a million times worse..." I shake the thoughts of battle from my mind, "What happened?" I ask Nihlus as he stands. He walks over to the kitchen, ignoring me in favor to discuss... something with the other two.

_Well that was rude..._

I yawn and look down to smile that Rila was sleeping against my armored chest. I brush my gloved fingers along the bumps on her crests gently, wondering what happened to cause the Asari to develop head crests.

She stirs under my touch and turns her head to look up at me. "Hey." I say.

"Hey." She yawns before sitting up off of me to stretch. "That was the best sleep I've had in years." She says wistfully.

I smile, "Same here." I lean in and surprise her with a light kiss. She stares at me with an awed expression that nearly makes me laugh. "Struck speechless already?"

She frowns at my tease and I kiss her on the nose, making her face scrunch up. I chuckle at it. "That's not funny." She states seriously. I kiss her on the nose again. "That's not funny!" I laugh and she pouts.

"Oh don't worry, I won't stop kissing you just because you said so love." I smirk as she glares at me. "Of course I could always trade it for more..." I move closer to her and wrap my arms around her waste. "Intimate suggestions..." Her eyes widen and she blushes at the implications.

"I-I..." She swallows uncomfortably. "I'm- I'm not-"

I press a finger to her lips and shush her, still smirking. "I love you Rila."

I release my hold on her lips and she breaths, "I love you too." She smiles, which make me smile.

_Damn, I love this girl._

I kiss her quickly on the lips and she yelps in surprise, making me laugh again. "That's not funny!"

"It is from where I am mon amour." She frowns at my words. "Oh right, mon amour, my love in French." I shrug. "I learned the language before I came here."

She smirks and hugs me. I hug her back, a bit confused, "Your alive!" She sniffles and buries her face in my shoulder.

"Hey hey, I'm here." I rub her back and kiss her crests lovingly.

She sniffles and pulls back to look me in the eye, "You love me right?"

I blink at her, "Uh, yeah, yeah I do."

"You love me?"

"Yes I do."

"You _love_ me?"

I frown and punctuate my words, "I love you."

"ME, as in Rila?"

_Ok what the hell's going on?_

"Yes. I. Love. You. Rila."

"But, ME as in THIS Rila?" She points to herself, worry plaguing her features.

_What brought this on?_

"I love you, I think it's a bit diminished at this point, but I love you."

She frowns and I'm still beyond confused. "You don't love me do you."

I have to hold back my glare, "I do love you Rila, what's all this about?"

She shakes her head, "No no I want to know."

"Know what?"

_I'm seriously losing my patience here._

She cups my cheek, "I want to KNOW if you love me."

_Is she daft?!_

I sigh and take in a deep breath to keep my calm. I look her in the eye and see so much uncertainty there, too much to not drown yourself in it. I pull her close, plant a loving kiss on her lips, and whisper, "I love you and only you Rilana Aleena Tevos, beyond that of anyone I've every known I love you, I'd die to protect you, I'd do anything for you, I would marry you tomorrow if the world wasn't still burning around us." I feel her shutter against me at my words.

_When I tell you I love something, I LOVE something. Enough to DIE for it if it's required._

"But-"

"Rila..."

"Dylan I need to kno-"

"Rila I would have little blue daughters with you if you wanted me to."

She snaps back to look at me in shock. "I-" She starts shaking her head.

_Damn it, this is worse then trying to romance Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins!_

I hold her head still and press my lips against hers, not letting go until she relaxes into it. "I. Would. Have. Little. Blue. Daughters. With. You. If. You. Wanted. Me. To."

_I might sound like a dick right now, but I don't know anything else that might convince her I love her._

"I want you..." I stare at her.

_Is she seriously going to say that?_

"...to te-"

_OH FUCK NO!_

"RILA!" I bark at her and she shuts up, the others look over at us. "I don't know why you're questioning how much I love you, frankly I'm finding more and more reasons to hate you the longer you keep this up." She flinches and I continue, "I would fight through a hundred angry Krogan Battlemasters to be with you Rila. I would do anything to be with you, now that I know where my heart lies I want to keep it there and it's with you. So suck it up and realize that I'm your boyfriend now, and I'm not going anywhere, you know why?!" She shakes her head quickly. "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU DAMN IT!" Her mouth opens and I hold a gloved finger to it to shut her insecurities up. "Rila, whether you can admit it or not, I know you love me, and you know I love you. I'd strip down and mount you right here and now if there weren't three Spectres standing not five meters away from us." She blushes so deeply her skin actually looks like it's natural blue.

"Dylan I-"

"I love you, I'll say it in eight different languages if you want."

"Dylan I want to-"

"French, Je t' aime."

"Dylan-"

"Spanish, Te- Te- god damn it Dell why can't I remember two frickin' words in your fancy language!"

"DYLAN!"

I cringe at how loud she shouts.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP SO I CAN TALK!"

I stare at her in shock.

She takes in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "I want you but I don't know why! I want to be with you but I don't understand WHY I love you! Why every time I look at you I just want to throw you up against a wall and pin you with my mouth! Why I feel like I'm dying inside whenever your not standing right next to me! Why I can't STAND to see you hurt!" Tears form in her eyes. "I want to know why you love me, why I love you, how I can love you when I think Humans are disgusting!" I wrap my arms around her and hold her close, letting her just let out her frustrations.

"Because I'm not human." My eyes widen when I say it. She pulls back slowly to look at me in confusion.

"Wha- What?"

"I'm not Human."

…

…

"But, you are Human."

…

"Right?"

…

"Dylan?"

I swallow uncomfortably, "Mein did a bio-scan on me... it showed how I was able to heal so quickly in combat." She frowns and I can barely make out the other Spectres watching me carefully.

"I'm what people might call Trans-Human. Most of my natural functions including nearly seventy percent of my brain is synthetic."

She stares at me and I can see Saren twitching slightly. "Wha- What?" I don't blink. "You-your not serious, right?" I nod. "You're serious... oh Goddess." I hug her and she stiffens. I worry that this was it, but she relaxes and hugs me back, resting her head on my shoulder comfortably.

"You don't mind?"

She pulls away, "Oh I mind, I mind it quite a bit, if it's true." I frown. "But even if it is." She gently cups my face, "I still love you to death, goddess I love you."

I smirk, "I think we out-used that word by now."

"I know..." She breaths in exasperation. "But it still means the same thing." She wraps her arms around me and I do the same to her, we press out foreheads together and I smile at how much it makes Nihlus and Saren uncomfortable.

We peer into each-other's eyes, seeing everything we felt barely contained within. I smile and she smiles. I smirk and she smirks. We even blinked at the same time I think. "Soulmate..." Her eyes widen in surprise. "That's what explains it, I am your Soulmate." She watches me for a moment before I see something change in her eyes and she jumps me, pressing me down on my back with her mouth. I search her eyes for a reason and it's simple... she loves me. I push back and gently wrap my arms back around her. Some people might think it's a bit creepy making out while staring into each-other's eyes. To those people I say, try it with an Asari, it will blow your mind.

* * *

I'm surprised by how long we actually make out, twenty eight minutes. It felt MUCH longer, but in a very good way. Now we're just laying down on the couch. (I checked the bedroom and my bed is gone, how the hell someone can walk away with a king-sized bed I have to freaking idea.) Holding each-other lovingly while we stare out the still broken picture window and just bask in the peace we found after the fighting.

It turns out Nihlus, Tela, and Saren were assigned to keep an eye on us since we were apparently the most important people on Thessia regarding the Invasion. They already said that more then a few Eclipse would just LOVE to have our heads on a spike right about now. Including one Urdnot Kantor who SURVIVED his ship crashing into the ocean and sinking while engulfed in flames. You know, the one we shot down with an AA cannon? The one that split in half and blew up three times before sinking into the depths of the Thessian oceans? Yeah he survived that. Their trying to detain him BEFORE he reaches Tuchanka, that way the Council can actually charge him without having hundreds of thousands of Krogans trying to bite their heads off.

"I love the stars..." I blink and look up to find that, yes the stars were coming out.

_Huh, I guess since most of the city was running on back-up back-up generators there isn't enough light being illuminated to obscure the starlight from reaching the ground. How wonderful._

"Yeah... I used to live in the country you know, I'd loved looking up at the stars and just thinking."

Rila pulls me closer and I don't resist the urge to snuggle up with her. "My mother and I used to too, but then she started working in politics and we had to move." She laughs, "You might think this is ridiculous, but I painted constellations onto the ceiling in my bedroom to help fall asleep since I moved out."

I run my hand down her back and look her in the eye, "That's seriously brilliant. Can't bring the stars to you so you make more of them."

She blushes, "You're teasing me."

I kiss her on the nose, this time she only cringes a-little, "No, I think it's actually sweet. Maybe we'll find a nice little settlement on the outskirts of some colony somewhere and have a glass ceiling in the bedroom so we can see REAL stars."

She shifts to look at me curiously, "You'd do that?"

I smile and kiss her, "For you? I'm park a starship in deep space so all you saw was stars no-matter where you looked."

She half-lids her eyes, "Oh? I think I'm seeing a few of them right now, you're too bright to not be one." She leans closer.

It was cheesy, yes, but I love her so I let it slide, "I think I like that." I lean forward and capture her lips in a kiss filled with so much love I nearly felt drunk on it.

* * *

The next morning Rila and I had a nice conversation about living arrangements after Nihlus reported that not only did they find my bed wedged into a skycar down the block, but that Rila's entire apartment building had collapsed from a carpet-bombing. Anyways, Rila and I are officially living together, well, technically so are Tela, Saren, and Nihlus (by the Council's orders). Much to my annoyance. And with only one working bathroom in the apartment, I accidentally walked in on Tela after a shower and had to break up a jealousy match between my girlfriend and her. It ended with a broken mirror, a cracked shower door, and (to everyone's surprise) Tela knocked out cold lying in a small pool of her own blood on the bathroom floor, with a chipped tooth.

_God I love my girlfriend, she can be scary when she's pissed off I'll say that much. She definitely takes after her father in that area._

* * *

Word got through that the Slavers arrived with over twenty transport ships and another one of those Batarian Cruisers. I've been told the battle lasted about half an hour and resulted in the Destiny Ascension nearly being destroyed from the cruiser ramming it in a last effort to take it down with them, it didn't work. The rest of the Citadel Fleet then jumped in at the last second of battle and 'requested' an update for the Council, which Lidanya respectfully denied and told them to quote, "Take your (Asarian curse) ships and turn the (Asarian Curse) around before I decide you're trespassing in Asari space! The Council had their chance, now they can just wait for ME to update THEM, and don't even think about sending in STG, because the Anti-Ariel Cannon system is back up and aiming at anything trying to slip through!" I've been told that it took the collective decisions of every Matriarch on Thessia to convince Lidanya to let at least relief ships through to help survivors. Strangely the High Priestesses were no where to be found, strange because they actually rule Thessia, not the Matriarchs.

_And I'm fine with that, I don't need them figuring out who I am so they can kill me or try to control me or-_

Someone knocks on my front door, breaking me from my thoughts. I look at it then at Nihlus and he instantly stiffens, we weren't expecting company. He jumps up and unseals the door as I ready my Biotics, Saren and Tela were still asleep and Rila was in the shower so we were the only ones prepared. I nod to him and the door opens to show three regally dressed Asari. "Who are you?" I ask, even though Nihlus had already let them inside for some reason. I spot a Justicar walking inside behind the group as well.

The leader of the small group steps forwards to greet me, "I am High Priestess Ardania, these are my accolades as well as Justicar Leyania for our protection." I take in her blank expression and briefly see the Justicar's eyes flicker with, wait was that amusement? I try to double check but see just a blank expression instead. "I am here to speak to you Dylan."

_Fuck me..._

I grind my teeth, "No-one speaks my name without my permission..." I growl out. She doesn't look worried, the accolades though look terrified, the Justicar is indifferent. "I am called Scorpio, only those that truly know me are allowed to speak my first name."

She looks at me with disdain, but seems to understand as she bows respectfully, "Of course Scorpio, I wish to inform you that the Matriarchs have heard about your efforts to save Thessia and are willing to reward you for your services."

"MY services?"

She looks at me for a second before blinking twice, "Oh, of course you must mean the young Tevos that assisted you in fighting a resistance. She has already been rewarded with the rank of Commissioner of the APC."

I cut her off, "No, that's not good enough, you and I both know she only got that position because she's the only officer that survived the invasion. She deserves to earn as much praise as myself, perhaps even more so since she's the thing that kept me going when everything went to hell." Ardania scowls furiously that I cut her off.

_Not used to people challenging your power High Priestess?_

She scoffs, as if she knew what I thought, "You are a rare individual, where she is not, I will not give praise for a common citizen that you just happen to be fond of." She turns to go, "Have a pleasant day, you will be contacted when it is time to give a report of your actions. Goddess be with you." I have to hold myself back from flipping her off as she exits my apartment.

The door closes, "God what a bitch."

Nihlus stares at me in shock, "Scorpio you just-"

"I know what I just did, those in power need to be reminded they are just as powerless as we are in these situations." I turn and go back to organizing the pieces of a small experiment Mein sent over for me to study. "Without a guide, everyone will be lost at some point, and she's her own guide, no real logic allowing her to truly understand what we do to survive." I solder another component into place and wonder why Mein gave this to me.

"Well... I think the Council's going to call us to the Citadel soon..."

I don't look at him, "I'm not leaving this planet until I have reason to, the Council can go fuck themselves after what they failed to do here."

Nihlus sits down in his chair across from me, "I know Scorpio, but the rumor is that YOU caused all this."

I stop what I'm doing to look over at him.

"They're reports that you were trying to find 'glory in battle to strengthen Humanities standings with the Asari people'. I don't particularly believe this, but without a formal report from anyone here like we've been delaying..." I keep my face neutral. "It's becoming the most popular rumor out there."

I pound the component I was holding onto the coffee table and stand abruptly to march down the hall.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

I ignore Nihlus, I know who's starting all these rumors and the lazy sack of Turian shit was living in my home.

I kick open the door to the guest room and Saren nearly falls off of the bed trying to end a message he was reading on his omni-tool. I grab him bioticly and slam him into the wall, frightening Tela who was still sleeping. I get right up in his face as he struggles to break free, "Why don't you have the balls to confront me face to face Saren?" I put all the hatred I have for him into my voice and it comes out as a low growl.

"Scorpio? What the- let him go!" I look behind me to see Nihlus restraining Tela.

_Huh, I guess he still despises Saren._

"Your kind need to learn their place Scorpio..." I glare at his smug smile and debate whether or not to just kill him to get this over with.

Something crosses my mind and I smile, forcing confusion to plaster itself on his face. "What does one do with a pest? Does he kill them outright? No he finds the source." He frowns deeply at my clipped words. I grab his wrist through my biotics and rip his omni-tool off his arm.

"You're assaulting a Council Spectre!" Tela shouts from behind me, no doubt already restrained by Nihlus.

I turn away from Saren and just let him float there while I hack into his omni-tool using the program Tel taught me how to use against Geth. It breaks instantly and I download all his files onto my own before biotically crushing the band within my fist and letting the pieces fall to the floor. "That was-" I cut Saren off with a concentrated throw that knocks him out cold.

"Scorpio what the hell do you think you're do-" Nihlus takes the hint and knocks Tela out with a well-placed head-butt.

"Thank the Spirits! She just doesn't know when to shut up!"

I nod in agreement while going over Saren's heavily encrypted communications. "Not anymore." I run my software through the entire system and everything opens up within a few moments.

"Spirits, you need to get me one of those!"

I ignore him as I track the IP address back to the Citadel, specifically to the Batarian Embassy. "Nihlus didn't the Batarian's close up their Embassy?"

He looks over at the data and frowns, "Yes, yes they did."

"Then I think it's high time we report to the Citadel to quell these ridiculous rumors." I smirk at him and he shakes his head.

"I can get my people on it, for now it's safer to stay here on Thessia, you and Rila are the only two people that could potentially tip the balance in our favor. You try and convince Tela when she wakes up and I'll go tie up Saren in the storeroom."

I nod and release Saren, he hits the floor pretty hard, hard enough to give him a bloody nose.

"Ok, well, lets hope no-one else is involved with this crazy shit. I mean seriously? They're attacking you instead of a Councilor? I don't get it." He shakes his head as he drags Saren out of the room.

"Oh hey Ni-" I hear Rila freeze for a second. "So... what happened to him? He piss off Scorpio or something?"

"Something like that, go ask him yourself, this guy needs to be tied up before he wakes up, he's been mister cranky all morning." I snicker at his words.

Rila walks into the room with a puzzling look on her face, "Uh..." She stops and looks over Tela's unconscious form on the floor next to me. "Please tell me we're not going to war again? I can't handle another invasion."

I snort out a laugh, "No, no it turns out Saren was pushing some zealots to try and pin the invasion on me while Tela here was simply confused and needs some clarification as to why Nihlus and I attacked Saren."

Rila shakes her head while sitting down beside me, "You are seriously insane you know that? Attacking a Council Spectre?" She smirks, "I'm just annoyed I didn't get to punch this bitch out myself."

I smile at her, "Again?"

She rolls her eyes, "Yes, again."

I laugh and kiss her, "You and I, we're going to end up kicking the Council back into shape by the end of it, one Spectre at a time." She sighs and rests her head on my shoulder as we sit on the edge of the guest bed, Tela knocked out and laying on the floor next to us, and Nihlus packing the Council's top agent into the Storeroom.

* * *

Weeks later Nihlus finally released Saren from the storeroom and into Spectre custody, it turns out Saren broke more than a few rules trying to pin everything on me unsuccessfully using Batarian Zealots that hadn't left the Citadel yet. Now he's on probation and stuck on the Citadel for the foreseeable future. Tela understood things pretty quickly and decided to be Saren's personal guard until the Council could send a proper escort.

_I'm just glad he's finally out of my apartment that guy's an asshole._

Last night the Matriarchs gathered secretly with me and the High Priestesses inside the Temple of Athame (which somehow wasn't even scratched from the invasion) to award me the highest medal a civilian could be awarded, The Lights of Athame, a silver circle that spirals inwards like a whirlpool until it stops at one central stone that glowed light-blue whenever any light source hit it directly.

_I felt pretty awesome at that point, I mean being rewarded for your struggles is pretty nice._

Matriarch Aethyta was the one who presented it to me, as well as a bond from the Asari Republics that wavers all education costs I might acquire from AAH or any other Asari Academy on Thessia. The ceremony was held in secret to keep anti-human supporters from bombing the temple. It was aired 'live' the next morning for the entire Galaxy to see. The first thing Rila did when she found out was kiss me.

_I've decided to keep it on me at all times along with Liara's Prothean amulet, just-in-case. You never know who might decide the 'Savior of Thessia' could deserve a new skycar, or a brand new weapon specially made by such and such, or maybe a well deserved discount. Just toss around a few 'My name is Scorpio and this is my favorite store on Thessia.' I'm a bastard, I know._

Aethyta wanted to celebrate with a party and ended up holding a private event at AAH for all the students since word got out how everyone of them went against their instructor's orders and fought a ground battle with the Eclipse to hold the residential sectors of Armali. The party was _pretty_ good, if a bit stale. Everyone was just glad to be alive. Rila and I are just getting back from the party now. I'm unlocking my apartment door as I file this internal monologue away mentally.

"Dylan, remind me never to ask you to dance with me again."

I frown, "It couldn't have been _that_ bad, I mean that was a classical dance that portrays the closeness and combined cooperation love truly inspires!"

She shakes her head, "Not if I don't know what the hell to do when you grab me by the waist and pull me close! I could have sworn you were going to kiss me!" I laugh, much to her annoyance.

I tried to do the Waltz with her and we failed miserably. She first just stood there with wide-eyes after I pulled her into position, then after she figured out we were dancing she kept turning and ended up pulling both of us to the floor. We even bumped heads trying to get back up and decided to just give up and sit with the instructors that opted to let the younger Asari have the floor. I ended up talking with the Head Instructor of AAH about my Biotic Rage and figuring out it was pretty much like a Krogan's Bloodrage, but instead of increasing cellular regeneration, it increases the 'cooldown' of my biotics, as well as increase my biotic potential, increasing the strength of my biotics. She signed me up with a secondary instructor to try and master my Rage along-side Aethyta's teachings.

_I'm just glad I didn't kill myself overpowering my biotics._

The front door unseals and flies open to reveal three Humans sitting on my couch, all in Alliance uniforms I instantly pull Rila behind me and build up my biotics, "Ah, Scorpio, we were waiting for you to return."

I nearly choke on my own tongue as I hear the distinct voice of Lance Henriksen coming from one the only Steven Hackett as he stands up to greet me from my couch. "Wha- I-" I shake my head and compose myself to act normal. "Who are you?"

"My name is Admiral Steven Hackett of the Systems Alliance, I command the Fifth Fleet." He subtly waves to the man on his left, "This is Admiral Benson of the Fourth Fleet." He waves to the woman to his right, "This is Ambassador Maria Henson from the Citadel. We're here to find out how a Human ended up protecting the Asari Homeworld from an invasion of Eclipse mercenaries and Batarian slavers."

I watch them all cautiously, watching the frustrated expression on Benson's dark skinned face shift to annoyance for the smallest second and the polite smile on Maria's seemingly innocent and calculated face showing how she too doesn't want to be here, but has to. "What do you want to know?" I ask cautiously while stepping inside, letting my biotics fall to a dull roar.

Hackett goes to speak but Benson cuts him off, "We want to know why you protected these tentacle heads from utter destruction." His companions glare him into submission.

Maria continues with, "Also we wish to understand how you were able to control your biotics so quickly after your departure from Earth."

Hackett finishes with, "We want to know your story, and what you intend to do after this."

I adopt a look of professionalism and step forward, subtly waving Rila to give us a minute as I close the door remotely. "First of all, my legal name here on Thessia, as I am a citizen, is Dylan David Scorpio. Though I would prefer you address me as Scorpio." I hold out my hand and they all take it in turn as we sit down opposite of each-other. "Secondly, I'm not a normal biotic, my biotics are natural. I do not require an amp, no I was not genetically engineered."

Benson closes his mouth and frowns.

"Yes, I have double checked this information, I'm a natural human biotic, thats the end of it."

Maria folds her hands in her lap and listens while Benson frowns deeply and Hackett watches me with a calculated glance.

"I'm currently a student at the Armali Academy of the Huntress and have been enrolled there for over four months now. I cannot disclose how I was able to be recruited into an exclusively Asari Academy as those details have been classified by my government."

_Benson's eye is starting to twitch._

"I arrived on Thessia..." I reluctantly add the year I was being forced to commit murder. "A year and five months ago, but only realized my biotics even existed four months ago. Again that information is classified."

This time I see Benson curl his hands into fists before releasing them.

"Afterwards I was hospitalized due to a biotic overload and was released after being in a coma for eight days, my medical files are also classified."

Benson twitches again.

"I then ended up in an extreme firefight that involved eight homeless people, three Quarians, Rila over there as the only APC officer that responded, and nearly everyone dying as a result." I stop and look over at Rila, "Hey Rila!"

She looks at me in surprise.

"Were the records for that incident in the Community Center destroyed when APC Headquarters collapsed?"

She blinks at me for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, nearly everything was destroyed, only the personnel records that I had on a back-up OSD survived."

I look back at my guests and Benson seems furious, Hackett and Maria are seemingly interested. "Anyways, I built a company that employed Quarians as well as other species and ended up supplying the APC with new weapons and equipment in time for the invasion to hit. I immediately took charge of my employees and lead them in a resistance movement to support the APC officers trapped inside their Headquarters, we blew our way inside, discovered most of the Officers were corrupt and executed before we even got there, and ended up having to evacuate the entire structure when a Batarian Cruiser started firing at us from low orbit." I look over to Rila, "Hey, you never did tell me how the Eclipse corrupted nearly the entire Armali police force within six months."

She shakes her head and sighs, "I don't understand it either. One minute I'm dealing with reports about the Blue Suns leaving Thessia, the next I'm being forced to kill my colleagues to avoid having a rebellion on our hands." I look at her empathetically.

"Wait, you were leading the resistance then, not being ordered by Spectre Saren Arterius?" Maria asks. Benson's dark brown eyes bore into me as they all watch me carefully.

I swallow under their combined gazes, "I was the leader yes, Saren fell ass-first out of an air-duct and just happened to be there when I was planning the counter-assault on the Cruiser."

"Interesting..." Benson rubs his chin thoughtfully. "You DID allow him to work with you though?"

I stare at him, trying to calculate what he meant by that, "Yes and no, I didn't trust him because the first thing he did was attack APC officers when he arrived at our complex so I sent him with Rila and a large contingency of Officers to disable the servers controlling the mechs underneath the APC building we were hold up in." Benson's smile falls and Hackett nods, excepting it as fact.

"That is understandable, what happened next?" Hackett asks me directly.

I shift uncomfortably under his gaze, "Well... Matriarch Benesia's squad of Commandos and I assaulted an ancient Anti-Ariel Cannon in the southern districts and took it over after rescuing Spectre recruit Nihlus from the hands of an insane Eclipse Commando. We got the cannon operational and blew up the Cruiser just as Matriarch Lidanya came in with her fleet and the Destiny Ascension to engage the other two cruisers orbiting the planet." Maria's eyes are wide with shock, Benson seems impressed, and Hackett is still watching me under that piercing gaze.

_Oh man he is intimidating._

I suppress a shiver and take the glass of water Rila hands me and clear my dry throat after I chug half of it. "After that I got word that two of my agents in the field, two good Quarian friends of mine-" Benson frowns deeply.

_Fuck off man._

"-were assaulting the main Eclipse base where the back-up mech servers were located, ironically right under the Cruiser that we blew up. So I met up with Spectre Agent Tela'Vasir and her Commandos sent from the Destiny Ascension as well as Saren and Rila. Unfortunately we didn't all agree with what we had to do next-" Rila scoffs loudly. I smile in response. "-and I had to take charge."

Hackett hold up one of his hands to stop me. "We want to understand what went on between your people that caused such division."

I frown slightly, "Well... Saren mostly. He didn't trust my command and believed I would get us all killed. He and Spectre recruit Nihlus were arguing with each-other violently, and I had to step in and stop them from killing each-other via gunshot." Hackett's eyebrows lift in surprise, so does Benson's and Maria's.

Huh, I guess they don't realize how stressful the situation was.

"We were in the middle of a planetary invasion with barely a squad of twenty people and one fleet up against an entire mercenary company and an arriving Slaver fleet. Tensions were high. We were outnumbered in every battle ten to one. Not to mention our dwindling supplies and lack of proper support. If we fucked up one time, I mean ONE time, everyone was dead, hell I nearly died more than three times within the course of six hours." Rila lays a hand on my shoulder and I look up behind me and smile at her comfort.

"I understand that, desperation can break any number of soldiers moral, we we're simply surprised that the first to break were the Spectres." Hackett states, Benson and Maria nod in agreement.

"What came next?" Maria asks curiously, her light green eyes still wide with astonishment.

"I lead a desperate assault against the Eclipse base with Tela, Saren, myself, Rila, and a Squad Leader Commando performing an ABI directly into the courtyard of the base."

"Hold on." Benson raises his hands and glares at me.

_Seriously what is up this guy's ass?_

"What is 'ABI'?"

I fold my hands in my lap and cross my legs, "ABI or 'Ariel Biotic Insertion' is the use of someone's biotics to rapidly slow their descent and allow skilled Asari Huntresses to essentially 'drop' from orbit and survive to carry out a mission." I state from memory.

Hackett's eyes light up at the concept, Benson looks shocked, Maria's mouth is a gap as she mutters, "Holy shit..."

_That was my reaction when I first heard about it too, holy shit indeed._

"And you were able to perform this with barely four months of training?" Hackett asks in surprise.

I nod to him, "I was taught that by the first Asari to survive Planet-fall using her biotics, Matriarch Aethyta. That was my first attempt and first success. Normally you aren't taught how to do this until into your tenth year at the Academy, but my education has been compacted from fifteen down to five by having school all-year-round. Pretty much anyone with contained, controlled biotics can do it, which is why Saren, and Rila here joined us. We needed as many people on the ground as possible to assault the facility. Saren unfortunately lost control quickly and passed out mid-drop. Tela and I had to combine our biotics to grab him and ourselves just before our window closed, he nearly died from the resulting impact, but Turian hide is tougher then Human or Asari skin so he survived with only a concussion."

Rila sits down next to me. "That was insane, I hope I never have to do anything like that ever again."

I wrap an arm around her shoulders and plant a kiss on her cheek, "You survived it love." I catch Benson's shocked, wider then possible, eyes staring at me out of the corner of my sight.

_Racist._

"That is quite the feat Scorpio." Maria comments in awe. "I have heard about failed attempts at the Alliance creating effective Interplanetary Drop Troopers but I never thought other species have already perfected it."

Hackett and I share a frown, "I didn't say it was perfected, anything over one hundred meters is not permitted, only the brave or stupid would attempt a total planetary drop. The friction alone would cook you alive before you entered the lower atmosphere of most planets if you're not careful."

Hackett agrees with a nod.

"Yes, and I want to remind you _Ambassador_ that you are divulging classified information to a person who isn't even a citizen of the Alliance!" Benson barks angrily. Henson visibly winces.

"Anyways..." They all look back to me. "When we finally... fought, our way into the base-"

Benson cuts me off. "You hesitated, what happened?"

I glare at him.

_This guy is seriously pissing me off._

"I flashed into a Biotic Rage and ended up slaughtering a fuck-ton of mechs and nearly dying from getting shot in my vitals multiple times." I keep my glare on him. "I don't appreciate being interupted by the way, if you want to hear what happened then shut the hell up."

He growls at me angrily. "You are threatening an Alliance Admiral _boy_..."

I wave him off, "And you're threatening the man that survived technical planet-fall so shut your mouth or I'll throw you through that window and see how well YOU fare in that type of environment!" I casually wave my hand at the replaced picture window behind them.

Benson visibly bristles, but Hackett cuts his retort off by saying, "I officially apologize on the behalf of Admiral Benson, he was out of line demanding more information then you might give us willingly." Benson gawks at Hackett and he glares, actually GLARES, at Benson until he shrinks down and pouts.

I smirk at him when he looks at me. "That was... an ordeal... I expected more from a _Rear_ Admiral of the Alliance."

_That's right, I can see your patch is missing a bar you prick._

Benson is about to explode when Maria and Hackett meet his gaze and he settles down considerably.

"Anyways-" I catch Rila trying to stifle a chuckle next to me. "-after we took down the base's AA grid we allowed the other Commando teams to land and regroup before assaulting the main servers. I didn't lead that assault, I was too injured and ended up as support for the last push." I look over at Rila for help, I don't remember much after that.

She nods and continues, "He actually fought on the front lines, not as support. He insisted, and we allowed it since he lead us into battle before and won." I stare at her as she continues sheepishly. "We were pretty shocked that He was able to take that many bullets and still walk." I swallow. "He rushed a turret and took it down even though his barrier had failed two seconds after he began running. I don't know what came over him, but we didn't lose one person in that final push." She looks at me and I see the admiration in her eyes, "All because of him."

"Another round of Biotic Rage I think." I try to explain. "I... don't really remember too much between the start of that battle and the end where we were mopping up stragglers."

Rila looks at me worriedly, "Scorpio... you lead us into battle, you shouted out orders every other second and we obeyed happily. You lead us to victory."

I shake my head, "I don't remember it."

She cups my cheek and peers into my eyes sadly, "I think that's for the best, it was hellish, the Goddess herself must have been watching over us in that moment."

Hackett clears his throat and we turn to see he's smirking, "What you did was something even the most seasoned N7 operatives would have to think twice about before attempting. You threw yourself into the fray with no thought of reward and came out on top through determination and shear will alone." He reaches into his uniform as all three of them stand and I impulsively do so as well out of paranoia. "We have heard all we require to present you with this," He hands me a blank black box and I take it, admiring the smooth surface before opening it to gasp in shock. "The Systems Alliance commends you with your hard work and determination with a Medal of Civilian Intervention." I run my fingertips over the bronze metal shaped to be the symbol of the Alliance and a stamp across the base of it that said 'Medal of Civilian Intervention'.

_What the-?_

I frown slightly as I look up to meet Hackett in the eye, "I'm not a civilian of the Alliance, how am I being awarded this?"

He doesn't blink, "You were born on Earth son, we were hoping to reward you with a higher Medal of Honor when you returned."

"When I return?"

Benson and Maria turn and look at each-other behind Hackett. "With this medal, and knowledge of your previous endeavors, The Prime Minister of the Alliance Parliament is offering you a position in the Alliance Military as a Lieutenant Officer effective immediately on your return to Alliance Space." Benson explains.

Without even batting an eyelash I know my answer, "No."

Hackett doesn't look surprised, his companions however are shocked. Hackett raises a hand to quiet them and asks, "No?"

I shake my head and cross my arms, "No, I'm not going to be someone else's puppet."

_Not again._

"Think carefully Scorpio, this is a one-time offer-" Hackett raises another hand to stop Benson from continuing his rant.

"Are you sure about this?" He asks calmly.

I nod resolutely, "I'm officially denying the offer. I'd rather not be forced to follow orders under someone else's command. It's nothing against the Alliance, but I want to find my own way. Plus I still want to finish up my education with AAH and that requires that I stay on Thessia."

He watches me for a moment before seeing my determination and nodding, "Alright then."

I hand him back the medal. "You can keep this as well, I don't need a token medal to remind me I did something good, all I have to do is look outside to know I did something right."

I see a smile crease his lips for a moment before he goes back to being stoic, "Thank you for your time." He nod to me and out of impulse from having a military father I salute. He does as well and I hold it until he drops his.

Ambassador Maria Henson walks up to me and holds out her hand, "It's been a pleasure Scorpio, I do hope to see you some time on the Citadel, maybe we could have a friendly drink and talk politics?"

I take Maria's petite hand and shake it warmly. "Whenever I'm there I will no-doubt take you up on that offer Ambassador." She smiles, but I don't return it.

Benson just storms out in a huff, Hackett and Maria walking out after him in perfect order and precision.

I let out a breath of relief and fall back onto the couch in exhaustion when I see they're gone. "God I hate politics..."

Rila giggles and I look over to see her watching me with a glint in her eye. "You were wonderful, it was that Benson that was a bit prickly."

I smile at her, "Yeah what the hell was up with that guy?"

She shrugs and leans closer, "I think he was jealous."

"Oh?"

She smiles seductively, "I think he wishes he had a girlfriend like me."

"I knew it." I block out the annoying Pussycat Dolls song that popped into my head and kiss her.

She instantly pushes back furiously. I just drown myself in the emotions having her so close brings up and the next thing I know, she's leading me into the bedroom. When we get inside I see the fire in her eyes and grab onto her as we fall into bed, our mouths still fighting for dominance. I look at the clock out of the corner of my eye out of curiosity.

_April 11th 2172, Shepard enlisted in the Alliance Military today._

I smile as that means I'll finally be able to see public records of our favorite hero on the Extranet.

"Oh!" Rilana gasps as I redirect my attention to her neck and let a trail of kisses evaporate her nervousness. I stop when our eyes meet and I see what she wants in her blackening iris', neither of us, not even Shepard, were going to forget this night for the rest of our lives...

"Oh... Embrace Eternity..." I barely hear her whisper it before I feel her consciousness connect to mine, and our lips make contact once again in a fiery passion that I've waited for so long...

* * *

A/N Yeah, if anyone is confused I blame myself. :) This chapter is the end of the second 'arc' of my five arc story, as such we have another Time Shift to deal with! :) Yay!

To explain Scorpio's situation... his CONSCIOUS self is organic, most of his BODY however is not. I actually had to add in the 'Trans-Human' part just so something that happens WAY down the road in Mass Effect 3 makes sense with the story. :) Way to think ahead am I right?

Here's the Question I have for you all this time, well Question(s) is more like it, or maybe- I'm rambling. Yeah if you ever talk to me in real life I ramble like Merrill in Dragon Age 2. ;)  
Anyways...

-What is your opinion of the story so far? Is it too slow? Is it moving too fast? Give me your opinion!

-Would YOU want to be in Scorpio's shoes at this point? What crazy thing would you do if you were Scorpio?

-Lastly, my ritual of writing one of these chapters is that I sit down and WRITE for 10 hours straight non-stop and post it within the same day. Give your opinion whether that's insane or not! :)

And I should know insane... I wrote a paper on it. XD Have a wonderful day everyone! Can you believe this chapter puts Scorpio's Legacy Book 1 past its half-way mark? :) I'm so proud of myself. AND it only took four months to get this far!

**Writings update:**

Legacy Codex-not finished

Nihlus' Adventure- still barely started

Drifter's Journey: Dragon Age- Oh, I didn't tell you? I'm writing a Dragon Age SI along-side of Scorpio's Legacy! See the A/N for the first chapter to see a better explanation. :)


	21. The Torniquen

A/N And for all of my remaining readers out there here's the piece of cloaca that I have been stuck on for over a month and a half now! I hope you enjoy it, but I doubt it since I personally had to rewrite it eight times to make it relatively understandable. Anyways, This chapter is an intermediary between the second arc and third arc of Scorpio's Legacy Pre ME1. If you're confused about any of it please notify me by either Private Message or Review and I'll explain as well as I can. I hate this chapter so just bare with it as it was written without a proper guideline or notes. The next chapter is set in 2176 and Ch. 20 was in 2172 so I felt like a chapter needed to outline what happens between the two. Have a wonderful Labor day all of you who are in the United States like I am, and have a wonderful day to the rest of those who have the patience of a hawk to stick by my side throughout this. :)

Read, Review, and Enjoy! (Hopefully)

* * *

It didn't take long for my notoriety to explode once word made it out that a Human defeated the invasion. They named me the Protector of Thessia for thwarting what the Council failed to recognize as a threat. Relations between the Council and Asari Republics dwindled when word of their denial of relief aid reached the public, talk of Councilor Tevos stepping down reached the majority within a month. I had to publicly acknowledge her as the person that denied immediate aid to be sent to Thessia just to keep the blame from placing assassins on my doorstep. By the end of 2172 she resigned, all because of my influence. Hmph, I never wanted to become famous from that event, neither did anyone else I know, well, maybe Mein, but for different and much more bloody reasons. Tevos ended up arriving on the doorstep of my apartment begging forgiveness for the tragic mistake she made. I calmed her down and accepted her apology while explaining that her losing her job was simply a political move to get a more Asari-centric Councilor in charge. We continued to talk until Rila came home from work and instantly hugged her mother lovingly. I let them catch up and at the end I made Tevos promise to not let our relationship make it to the public, it wouldn't make any of our lives any easier. She happily agreed.

I gained instant celebrity status among the Asari after the reward ceremony. I was hounded for months by this Matriarch or that Politician, even young Maidens constantly contacted me with proclamations of their love, Merchants and Suppliers of raw goods flocked in from around Citadel Space to offer my barely recovering company their services. It seemed like everyone wanted to instantly be my best friend, or perhaps NOT be my enemy. Overall the name Scorpio became so popular so quickly that if you searched it on the Extranet you would have to jump down eight pages to find anything related to the Human astrological sign, I know, I looked it up and laughed for hours.

On the one year anniversary of the invasion the entire planet had a day of mourning for the people lost during the tragedy. High Priestess Ardania proclaimed the ninth day of the third month by the Athame Calender as the Day of Remembrance, the first new holiday added to Asari Culture since the end of the Krogan Rebellions over a thousand years ago. The total number of allied dead from the short invasion reached just around eight million civilians and forty thousand local militia world-wide, eight thousand APC officers, and one Asari Frigate that had just over thirty personal onboard. Enemy casualties reached just over thirty thousand Eclipse personal, two hundred thousand LOKI and YMIR mechs world-wide, and just over six thousand slavers. The overall casualties were ultimately lower but the total cost averaged around ten billion credits. The entire Eclipse Mercenary Company on Thessia was bankrupted eighty times over and as a result Thessia was without a working and organized criminal underground for the first time in centuries. I personally had Seila and Mein re-organize the small-time thugs into a sort of beggar's guild so we could keep the black market trade intact around Armali without extorting the populous or creating a complete war for illegal trade from breaking out.

Add that to the forty billion credits in property damages world-wide and you got the largest free enterprise in the galaxy nearly going bankrupt. Only an emergency loan from the Volus Bankers running the Citadel's economy kept everything running, well that and the fact that the Quarian Flotilla arrived out of the blue and offered up billions of tons worth of minerals and materials as well as Quarian labor for the reconstruction. That got everyone's attention immediately. Officially the Council races couldn't accept any aid from the Quarians due to official sanctions, but as respected advisors within the Asari government the Matriarchs had the authority to call in 'loans' from exterior parties, such as the Migrant Fleet. This workaround naturally pissed the Council off to the point that they tried to sanction the free trade on Thessia to get back at the Matriarchs. I personally made sure it never passed by making a 'diplomatic visit' to the Citadel and 'convincing' Sparatus to back off his support of the bill. He accepted my bribe, oh I mean 'gift' crate of rare dextro-Thessian white wine and a few hours later during the debates he threw Valern under the bus. I had a good laugh with him in private over the shock on Valern's face when Sparatus politely told him to fuck off. He's surprisingly reasonable once he's on your good side. Sparatus made a few jokes about Salarian Dalatrasses and I ended up surprisingly enjoying myself. The man knows how to tell a joke I'll give him that much.

After almost two years almost all of Thessia was rebuilt and I was summoned as a witness to a trade agreement signing between the Asari Republics and the Migrant Fleet. The Admiralty board signed it, then Ardania and twenty other Matriarchs, including Aethyta and Benesia, who barely made eye contact, but I could still see something like admiration in Aethyta's eyes when Benesia leaned ever-so-low over the bill to sign it and give us all plain view down her purple dress. I blushed and looked away to see Aethyta staring longingly. She still loves her, even with the fallout she still has a thing for the mother of her only Natural Asarian daughter. No wonder she keeps tabs on them both constantly. The entire meeting was held in secret and never released publicly. Only a select few within the Asari and Quarian governments knew what really happened that day. Hell, the only reason I was there is because the Asari Republics, Ardania specifically, wanted to use my company as the middle ground for the entire agreement, that way the Council couldn't officially declare a breech in Galactic law since my company is technically a private third-party industry set up on Thessia. I'm still a bit weary that it was held in a still crumbling warehouse even though the inspectors said it was structurally sound. I think I'm still rebuilding it anyways, a stray orbital shot hit the roof and nearly toppled the entire thing during the last leg of the space battle at the end of the Invasion. The first thing Mein did when she walked inside and saw a crashed fighter sticking out of the ceiling of her office was, "Oh goodie! More scrap metal for my experiments!"

It took almost two and a half years for Ardania to officially declare Thessia recovered. The Asari people now respected the Quarian people for their hardships and dedication to help their entire people and others during a crisis. Just recently there has been talks of the Quarians regaining their embassy on the Citadel, but only the new Asari Councilor, Matriarch Telaria, seems to be willing to allow them back inside Council Space anytime soon.

Onto a personal level, Mein and I had to convince Jeilus to keep my secret to herself after she surprise-scanned me during one of my random visits. Naturally she was shocked that I was technically trans-human, but overall she's kept it to herself so I don't mind. My nightmares are back, they started up again after the battle and haven't let up since. I started coughing up blood after a particularly bad one and freaked Rila out when she woke up to me standing over a pool of blood with the rims of my irises glowing bright blue. Rila forced me to see Mein and Jeilus twice a week after that. It looks like the initial scans were only partially correct, the supposed cybernetic Reaper tech in my body was expanding to take over most of my basic functions. I would already be dead if Mein hadn't hacked into them and rewrote the basic coding to only replace damaged tissue during severe trauma. She and Jeilus are researching ways to try and reverse the process but according to them I have barely twenty years left to live before I'm just a husk. They can't seem to understand what the origins of the cybernetics are and I'm content to let them stew in their ignorance for as long as possible. I already screwed up the timeline beyond all thought by just crashing a skycar into a cargo ship, I'm not chancing what consequences whoever D has for me if I tell them the truth.

I haven't told Rila yet, no need to worry her. She has enough to deal with being the Commissioner of the APC. We haven't talked about it much but I can tell that she worries that I might just drop dead one of these days and leave her here alone. I love her, I can't understand why but I do, but I can't allow her to be more than a loving companion to me, not after Neril, not after Cynthia. She wants us to be more, she desperately needs us to be more and I don't know if I can do it. So far our melds have only gone skin-deep, I worry that if I let her in, then too much could be traded and D might decide she's expendable.

I sit back and close my eyes as I think about how soothing she is. Her touch, relaxing and calming. Her voice, beautiful and strengthening. Her eyes, burning with passion yet sweet and curious to everything around her.

_She's brilliant._

"Scorpio!" I jump awake and look across the table at Rila in shock. "You were drifting off again. Are the nightmares getting worst?" Worry creases her invisible brow.

I sigh and look off into the distance, trying to remember if I even slept last night. "No, no I was just... thinking."

She cuts into her meal and takes another bite before asking, "About what?"

"About the war." I say indifferently. She frowns at me over her glass as she takes a sip and I sigh as I try to elaborate. "About what happened when I puked up three liters of blood and passed out under the anti-air battery."

She coughs on her wine and wipes some off her lips before staring at me in shock, "Wha- When did this happen?" Her voice is soft, yet scolding.

I cringe, it was her, 'You lied AGAIN?!' voice. "A few moments before it fired, Nihlus and I were stuck fighting a horde of Varren off while trying to repair the firing mechanism. I had to use my already strained biotics to lift a four ton cog over a crevasse and lock it in place to get the cannon running again while Nihlus kept the Varren distracted." I blink as the deep booming voice I heard from that day echoes in my memories.

Rila nearly tosses her fork off the table as she slams her palm down, "Why didn't you tell me this before?!"

I lower my head and take a deep breath, "Because it was traumatizing and I didn't want to talk about it until now." I say blankly. She stares. "That and it eludes to some rather... unpleasant things that happened last time I nearly died." I say quietly, the memory of waking up to finding Neril lying against my couch, dead.

Rila goes quiet as she digests the new information, and her salad. "So what else aren't you telling me?" I look up at her wearily, my mouth open as if I was going to tell her everything, but I close it, that wouldn't help. "You aren't alone in this Dylan. You don't need to be alone." She reaches over and places her hand over mine, I effortlessly intertwine my finders with hers.

"I know, it's just..." I close my eyes and try to focus on the strangely alien texture of her thumb brushing against my own.

"Can't let it go." She finishes for me.

I look up at her and smile, she always knew what to say to crack me open. "Yeah. I guess I'm just being selfish again aren't I? Sharing nothing to protect the ones I love."

Her eyes twinkle at the word, "You bet your ass your being selfish!" She says mockingly while retrieving her hand. I wince involuntarily at the lack of physical contact and by the look on her face I can tell she noticed. She pounds back the rest of her wine and shakes her head at the instant buzz the winter-blend wine gave her biotics. "You want to watch a movie or something?" I sigh quietly, already close to tears from my internal recap of the last few years. "Or we could... just cuddle." I actually smile at that. Once again she knows exactly what I need before I even know it.

We lay down on the couch wrapped in each-others arms while watching whatever our Vidflicks account had already on pause from last night. "I love you." I suddenly blurt out.

She looks at me and smiles weakly, "I know." Is all she says. Those two little words, two simple words, crush my heart.

That's what my secrets have caused, she no longer sees me as her love. I close my eyes and silently wish I hadn't listened to Neril, never got involved, never saved that damn Asari girl in the alleyway, never felt it necessary to lead a desperate counter-strike against an invasion I caused. I shake my head as the tears finally break through and start streaming down my face. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, hey..." She cups my cheeks and I look away from her, She doesn't deserve my lies. "Stop it." She slaps me across the face and I stare wide-eyed at her as she just frowns. "Stop lying." She pushes me off and stands up to walk out of the room.

I grab her wrist, "Et Ul Rila." She stops and turns to glare at me and I stand, tears subdued, to try and explain. "I'm broken, I-I mean..." I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm not- I'm-" She presses her lips against my own and I yelp in surprise.

She pulls away a second later and hugs me, "I don't need you to tell me everything, just remember that I'm tougher then I look and can take anything you throw at me. Hell... just look at Tela!"

I snort out a laugh and lay my head against her shoulder, just soaking in the comfort. "I'm dying." It's barely above a whisper, just enough for me to know she heard it.

She holds me tighter after a moment and whispers back, "I know."

I pull back to look at her, "You know?"

She looks at me apologetically, "I... talked to Mein last time she stopped by to-" She frowns. "Do whatever she does with you." I sense the malice in her voice and swallow. "I was waiting for you to tell me what was happening but you never did, so I... investigated." I blink at her.

_Damn... well, she WAS the head officer in the APC before becoming Commissioner..._

"I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you, I- I didn't want to add to your stress." I say truthfully.

She kisses me again, this time with more force, "Next time just fucking tell me. I nearly killed Mein when she hinted that you and her were doing 'routine checkups'."

I growl, "God damn it Mein I told you to AVOID innuendos!" I sigh tiredly.

She giggles, "Yeah, you might want to check your account, I didn't have enough money in mine to fix her facemask when I cracked it over the coffee table."

I groan, "Really? WHY the coffee table?" I look over her shoulder to scan it visually for cracks or laughs. "Hey, I already lost TWO coffee tables to rowdiness, I don't need another utterly destroyed one on my conscious!"

She pulls away and pouts as she sits down onto it. "But you said you liked my rowdiness."

I blink before grinning and stepping closer, "Oh, I do. I just enjoy fine craftsmanship a bit more." I reach past her, brushing my finger tips across her thigh as I run my hand across the imported hardwood furniture.

She grabs onto my waist and pulls me ontop of her, "And I enjoy your directness." I just smile before our mouths crash into each other with renewed passion, ready to rekindle our dwindling flame...

* * *

**YOU WILL NOT STOP US!**

I jump at the voice and keep running.

**WE ARE ETERNAL!**

I duck past the swinging claw of a brute and grab my pistol from where I dropped it before jumping up and shouting out in rage as I bioticly slam down onto it's back, throwing it to the ground. It's head turns to growl up at me just before I blast it off with three pistol shots. "You can go fuck yourself Harbinger!"

**YOU CANNOT STOP US! **

I look up and duck as three marauders start firing at me. I hop down and jump back to the road to keep running towards my destination, a clinic a few sectors down from my apartment.

_No need to waste ammo._

Rushing through the lobby I pound the elevator button and turn to fire at and kill two of the husks trying to get in to rip my throat out. I fall back against the back wall and swear as I see two shots made it through my armor. I slather some expired medigel I scavenged and cringe at the burning sensation. "God damn it, how could this happen?"

**YOU ARE ALL FEEBLE.**

I ignore the voice and check my pistol for malfunctions. "Last thermal clip." I mutter absentmindedly.

**YOUR STRUGGLE IS FUTILE.**

"Oh yeah? Then how did I blow up your right hand you fucker...?"

…

"You're so arrogant you can't even realize how futile YOUR struggle is. We have the Crucible! WE will win and YOU will die!"

**IT IS INEVITABLE...**

* * *

I gasp awake from my sleep and look around to find I'm still in bed, Rila wrapped around my side. It was a dream. I lay back against my pillow and sigh in annoyance.

_Why do all of them have Reapers?_

Rila shifts and mutters something in her sleep. I rub my thumb over her head crests and she calms down, smiling at the small comfort.

_Nazara had better be watching it's back, because I'm going to to bioticly tear it a new asshole if it thinks it can 'assume direct control' my ass anytime soon. Or... I'll tear it an actual asshole... whatever, I'll just kill it when I meet it._

Carefully pulling myself from Rila's hold I sneak out of the bedroom and throw on a robe before grabbing a glass, filling it with ice-winter brandy and walking out to the balcony to drink in peace. I look down at the silence the barely recovered capital of Thessia now breeds. The simple complacency that caused the invasion to be allowed to happen slowly but surely coming back to life. I look to the stars next, seeing only the brightest of them getting through the skyline to reach the oblivious people scurrying about. I focus and close my eyes to open them and see all of the stars with a small trick my cybernetics gave me, Optical Static Filtering I think Mein said. I count the stars, something I do when I can't sleep, I get up to half the stars in the sky when a late-night bird flies through my line of vision, breaking my concentration. I follow the lone bird as it flies through the air, circles twice, then lands on the platform below. "This is life. This is contention." I take a sip and ignore the icy burn it has in the back of my throat when I swallow. I scoff at the rebuilt city of fools, "This is complacency. This is what happens when all war is done." I sigh and shake my head as I lean forward and against the railing. "This is insanity..." I finish my drink and press the still cool glass against my forehead to ease the headache that surfaced from my thoughts. I hum at the relief before my sharpened hearing catches the footsteps of Rila behind me. I choose not to turn to her.

"Can't sleep?" I simply nod in response. She steps over, her own robes tied close to ward off the cool night air. We stand in silence for a moment before she speaks up. "I heard you." I look over at her and see her worried expression. "You never talk about Armali like it's a disease in public." She smiles, which makes my lips twitch into a small one as well.

I sigh and look back at the city, "This, all of this..." I sense her looking around. "This is what's wrong with peace. It makes everyone complacent. I'd much rather have riots in the streets then this... silent chaos." My grip tightens around the glass, threatening to shatter it. "We strive for peace, and when we get it we whine and moan about how dull it is. Then when we go to another war and everyone brushes it aside like it's horrifying and unnatural." The tempered glass cracks. "Peace." I scoff at the city and turn, arms wide, "This is what we strive for and yet it's what we despise the most! I am sick of dealing with the galaxy's bull shit already and the Reaper War hasn't even started yet!" The glass shatters, piercing my hand with thousands of fine shards of glass. Pain, I sigh at the feeling that reminds me I'm still human, or at least organic.

"Dylan, what the hell are you doing?!" I stop pulling out glass and look up at her frightened expression.

I close my eyes, wishing she hadn't seen me do that. I'm not sure how strong you have to be to shatter tempered glass but my skinny but toned arms definitely couldn't even chip it.

_Must be the cybernetics._

"I'm living in peace Rilana." I bite out angrily. She backs up in slight fear and I scold myself for directing my anger at her. "Sorry, I'm just frustrated, so many people died because of me that I'm starting to lose touch with reality." Absentmindedly I lift my hand up to rub at my headache and wince when I stab a piece of glass into it instead. "Damn it." I look at the bloody hand and notice the bleeding already stopped. "Well... better get this cleaned up before the wound seals." I step back inside and walk into the bathroom to get a tweezer and meticulously pluck at my wounds.

"What is the Reaper War?" I stop and look up through the mirror at her in shock before swearing under my breath.

"It's noth-" I stop myself from lying again and set the tweezers aside to look at her directly, "Its my nightmares, a war beyond the scope of any that we have ever known is coming. Horrifying monsters of mutated flesh and cybernetics slaughtering everyone and using their bodies to create more of them." I stop to see her reaction, she stares in horror at me before stepping up and hugging me. I hold my bloody hand out away from her and hold her with my free one.

"I never knew, how can you just shrug off these nightmares?" I know the question is rhetorical.

"I'm resilient." I say bluntly, watching small cuts from where I removed glass start to heal themselves already. "Um, I need to fix my hand, then we can talk."

She pulls away and looks at me then at my hand, "Oh! Sorry. Here let me help you." Her hand glows with biotics and suddenly all of the visible glass is ripped out of my hand at once. I stare at her as she drops the shards in the trash. "Biotics were once used by field medics in the Asari militia before the advent of medigel. I learned a bit of it from my mother before her political years." She turns to pick up the tweezers and turns back to pause, the cuts were already healed, only small hairline scars to show anything even happened.

"Yeah that's the other thing, my cybernetics also increase my cell regeneration and sensory abilities. Aethyta keeps calling me Battlemaster whenever we duel and I drop into Biotic Rage." I state plainly.

She smiles at me sadly, already knowing what I can do when I drop into my rage.

We walk back to the living room and sit down and I know in that instant that I can't keep my knowledge a secret no matter how hard I try. "Rila, what I'm about to tell you is beyond classified, so classified that if a Councilor knew the information I'd assassinate them in a heartbeat to keep it from leaking out to the public. Do you understand?" She watches me for a moment, seeing if I was serious before nodding. "I need to hear you say it."

She sighs, "I understand, I can't tell anyone."

I nod my head sullenly, "Alright... this will sound insane, but, well... I've already claimed that title so this might not even surprise you. It's time you know the truth, MY truth..."

* * *

Rila sits back and stares up at the ceiling, soaking in the massive influx of data I just gave her. "So, when you were in a coma..."

"I was in direct contact with whoever D is. I used to think him a useful, if not dangerous, ally. Until he started torturing me."

She blinks at the ceiling. "You do realize that this defines being psychologically insane yes?" She shakes her head. "And yet I believe it, what the fuck did I do to get YOU of all people being the man I love?"

I snicker, "Well, the gods have a sense of humor, I think, or at least I hope so, otherwise this is just cruel."

She barks out a laugh and runs her hands over her face. "Seriously how the fuck did you stay sane having to deal with all of that AND fighting back an invasion?" I shrug and she laughs at my modesty. "Goddess this is fucked up."

I nod in agreement. "Now, you can imagine why I'm depressed and seem a bit bipolar at times."

She sits up and looks at me in surprise, "Bipolar?! I'm surprised you haven't snapped and slaughtered your way though the streets screaming at the top of your lungs yet! Especially after Neril..." She swallows, "Died..."

I sigh sadly and nod, "Yeah, I actually thought I HAD gone insane when I woke up on a park bench with a gash in my leg and only surrounded by Asari." I take a second to just remember how much I refused to believe, until I ended up in that coma.

Rila stands as I get up to grab the two empty wine bottles we ended up uncorking to take the edge off while discussing who's fault the invasion was. We decided it was D's fault and moved on to my cybernetics with ease before ending the eight hour discussion with two Omega gunshots. (a drop of ryncol with a half-ounce of Batarian ale and a full ounce of Vorcha vodka mixed together with a drop of a weak neural-suppressor poison that's technically illegal in Council Space so I substituted it with some ice-winter brandy.) I hand her the extremely unhealthy shot and take my own, noting how much my throat burns as it goes down. "Fuck. *COUGH COUGH* Damn that's strong..." I nod in agreement, my gut feeling like it's on fire.

_Oh damn, I really need to stick to wine._

"Come on, lets test out the one sure way to cure a hangover." I look over at her as I place the bottles in the trash and see a familiar glint in her eye.

"Oh alright, but your on top this time, my arms are killing me from this morning." She just laughs and I wonder what might D do when he finds out about this.

_Oh let him try and kill us, he's already failed miserably a dozen times over. Let him come. I'll finally have a chance to repay him for the invasion._

* * *

I look down to check my black onmi-tool to see the date and time. 6-9-2174 ART, 0831 GST. I sigh in annoyance, Mein said that they were punctual and they're already a minute late. I look drop my arm to fall back into the depths of my cloak and tap my foot impatiently. I notice a side door opening and ready my biotics as two Turians walk into the cargo bay, watching the corners for any sign of a threat before noticing me and signaling behind them. I drop them as an Asari in a captain's uniform walks out of her ship smiling, "Well well, if it isn't the Protector of Thessia himself."

I step forward and shake her hand, "You will address me as Dark Wolf and only as such in our business deals are we clear?"

She scoffs before saluting professionally, "Alright Dark Wolf, our mutual friend says your looking to hire a starship captain for a scouting mission."

I shake my head, "That was the official story for the underworld, this is bit more complicated." I bring up my tool and show a hologram of a galactic map I took from the AAH archives, overlaid and cross-referenced with a current galactic map with a small bright spot in the corner, one location out in the Hades Gamma cluster. "I want you to scout for a system, nothing more, nothing less. When you find it I want you to contact me with a blank message on this channel." I send it and the map over to her omni-tool. "Discretion is key in this. I want no-one besides you and maybe your navigator to know where you are going, or even which cluster your looking in. Any deviation from these terms will result in immediate..." I turn my head slightly as I pause for emphasis, "...termination of our contract."

She looks at me as I punctuate 'termination' for her, she looks surprised I'm threatening her. "Um... alright? As long as I get paid for it I'll keep my discretion."

I nod, "That is expectable, here is one tenth the pay, you will get the rest when you return."

She is about to complain when her omni-tool pings and her eyes go wide, "A million credits!"

She gaps at it as I nod and shut down my omni-tool. "Your crew is also going to be compensated for their discretion, but at a tenth of that amount." She stares at me. "Each." She blinks as I let it soak in for her. "You are required to do your mission, nothing more, nothing less, if I require your services in the future I will contact you. When you find the system you will be sent coordinates, the cypher I implanted into your personal terminal onboard will decipher the message and you are to go to that location, there you will have every bit of data and information scrubbed from your ship including omni-tools before you will be told to report back here. At that point I will personally hand over the last remaining sum of credits and we will go our separate ways."

She blinks again before frowning. "How did you get-"

"I'm a master hacker dull stone, right now the security footage from this cargo bay shows you standing here, alone, talking to thin air. I am a shadow. I deal within darkness. You are standing in the light, willing and able to be seen by the authorities. I will be advising them of your smuggling operations if you do not comply to these orders and your ship and crew WILL be imprisoned or out-right murdered via sabotage." She winces at my clipped and monotone voice before nodding quickly and turning to go back to her ship. "Oh and say hello to your daughter Amelia for me." She whips around in shock to find me already gone, well, at least it seems like it, all I did was step back into the shadows and walk into a corner to lean back comfortably and watch her reaction.

_I just played every single card possible to keep her in line, lets hope this works, I don't fancy dealing with D alone and sending these small-time smugglers into his trap seems like a nice enough way to test his strength._

I turn as the Asari-made scout shuttle with a crew of twenty seven and moderate firepower coupled with heavy shielding exits the docking port and immediately jumps to FTL as it leaves the atmosphere. "At least their dedicated." I take an anxiety riddled breath before bringing up the old Prothean coordinates D sent me last night, no words just the coordinates, and deleting them so only my memories would hold the secret.

* * *

"Hey captain." The twin Turian pilots say in unison as Captain Neria Seria steps into the command center to sit between them.

She nods to them.

They notice her confused expression and decide to cheer her up. "Hey Grill what did the Turian say to the Turian?" Brill asked from her left.

"I don't know Brill what did he say?" Grill asks from her right.

"Damn it you just wrecked the punchline!" Brill shouts in false exasperation.  
Neria smiles slightly.

"Oh REALLY... so you didn't realize that WE were Turians?" Grill asks with a slight laugh in his subharmonics.

"No... wait we're Turians?!"

Neria shorts a laugh.

"Well, what did you think we are?" Brill asks with a raised eye-plate.

"Uh... Batarians?" Brill shakes his head. "Wow I just realized I shouldn't have eaten that bird we scrapped off the windshield earlier, I might need to go throw up now, before I die."

...

Neria bursts out laughing and punches both of them bioticly, "Damn it I hate you guys! Every time I'm sad, pissed, confused, jealous or horny you just make a joke out of it!"

They both turn with mock shock and say in unison, "We are special! You love us!"

Neria shakes her head and sighs, "I'll give you the first part. Now lets get on with the mission, this guy's paying me a million up front and another nine when we get back."

"What about us?" They speak in literally what sounds one voice.

Neria shakes her head, "Damn it you guys! You know how freaked out I am that you can do that!" She cringes as they laugh together. "And he's paying one million per person when we finish it."

They stop laughing and stare at her in shock, their eyes gleaming with credit signs and Neria could have sworn a *CHA-CHING* just echoed off the hull. "Ok wha-?"

She cuts them off. "I can't tell anyone anything or we all die from sabotage, now go to these coordinates and get us there fast." Neria states with her 'if you talk back I'll throw you out the airlock' voice as she uploads the data stream.

Both Brill and Grill immediately shut up and go to plotting in a course. "Wait... this is in-" Brill starts.

"I thought we were banned from entering Alliance Space after you blew up that cargo transport over Terra Nova?" Grill states for Brill with mild concern.

Neria sighs before glaring at both of them, "First of all I did not blow up that cargo transport, the drive went critical when the mercs hit the coolant tanks with a live grenade. Second, I'm the Captain so what I say goes, now get us there! If we pull this off we can all retire in luxury on whatever planet we want!" She stands from her seat and doesn't wait for the two to answer her as she quickly rush-walks down the hall and into her small private quarters to send a private message back home to her family before they had to drop all comms and go silent.

* * *

A star, small, dull, insignificant compared to the giants seemingly surrounding it. The dwarf lightly playing with the subtle waves of energy as they pass by, nearly oblivious to the larger brothers and sisters of the darkness that neighbor it. The picture zooms in another fraction, another small blink of light just beyond the star, a rock planet possibly the size of earth whipping around the star at tremendous velocity, nearly inconceivable small compared to the universe surrounding it. Impossible to see to the naked human eye.

"Not without a telescope..." I mutter while staring at the normally invisible star I pinpointed using my omni-tool's star map, my cybernetic upgrades allowing my eyes to filter out the other stars and focus on the one.

"What?" Rila asks as she looks down from the stars to watch me.

I don't look away, I can't. "Nothing, nothing. It's just so beautiful."

"Dylan?"

I blink, losing my place, but always remembering the spot.

"May the Goddess guide them to safety..." I mutter quietly.

_That star was where I sent the Torniquen to fall into D's trap. According to standard transit it'll still be eighteen hours before they arrive in system._

"Dylan?" Rila places her hand on my shoulder, knocking me from my thoughts to look at her. "Are you alright?" She asks, worry creasing her blue-purple features. She stopped taking the skin altering supplements after Tevos left the Council. It's taken years for them to start taking effect.

I close my eyes. I never told her about the message, or about my own universe. I'm quite content with keeping it like that. "I'm fine, just..." I look back at the star, worrying about them. "Worried, I'm just worried." I take a sip of my drink and savor the bitter taste that finishes with a burning at the back of my throat as I swallow.

_I'm immune to toxins. Which includes alcohol. The Reapers made sure I couldn't get drunk the bastards..._

I smile at Rila as she leans against the railing and sighs up at the stars.

_She has no idea what monster lies in wait inside me. Mein's experiments with a few nanites she 'harvested' from my organs have shown they are... preparing my body for... for- 'I don't know' is what she said. I know it too well as the husking process the Reapers use. Her brilliance with mechanical technology has bought me time but only enough until the Reapers arrive. The nanites would have taken over completely if she hadn't reprogrammed them. It makes no difference, I'll probably turn on whoever I'm with and serve the Reapers as another sleeper agent. Murdering innocents for my masters._

I take another sip of the Krogan Ryncol I traded a merchant at the docks for.

_It was my excuse to go there, so Rila wouldn't get suspicious, so I could successfully feed her my lie._

A sharp pain hits my stomach and my artificial pain center automatically tunes it out, giving it a slight burning sensation instead of the normal flesh tearing, internal bleeding, sharpness that Ryncol is supposed to give my species.

"I don't get how you can drink that." Rila thankfully interrupts my thoughts before they get to the next stage of Ryncol poisoning.

"It's an acquired taste." I say with a smirk.

Truthfully Mein told me to drink a glass every few hours to test out my advanced cybernetics. She told me that if she had the resources she might be able to reprogram the nanites permanently, making them only respond to my own commands such as to heal, or to enhance this part or that.

She smiles and steps up to give me a kiss. "You are insane Dylan, but I love that about you." She turns and I wrap my free arm around her waist. "*sigh*, Why can't we spend all our nights like this?"

"Well, for one I'd probably die of Ryncol poisoning."

She chokes on her drink and I laugh, "Damn it, you made me shoot wine up my nose!" She coughs again and I rub her back empathetically as she clears her nose of wine.

_I think I'm indoctrinated. I never really reacted to my recent discovery. I just accepted it and moved on like usual. I still feel numb though, its too fresh I think. Maybe in a few years it'll sink in and I'll properly flip my lid._

She snorts, "Oh, that was bad..." Rila wipes her nose on her napkin.

I wince, "You are... still sexy. I think."

She frowns at me, "You think?"

I shrug, "You're not human, I can't tell if that's sexy or not. I just guess." I smirk again. She raises an eyebrow at me as I swallow down the rest of my drink and wipe my lips off to avoid poison exposure. "I mean... yeah... your still a sexy goddess." I kiss her lightly on the lips and she blushes.

"Well... I'll go get you something else, can't let my victim- oh I mean 'lover' stay sober for one night." She takes my glass and sways her hips as she walks back inside. My eyes naturally look, even though I had every single curve, divot, and freckle across her body memorized from our various nights together.

_Although, the bluer her skin gets, the harder it is to remember where each little one is. She has the constellation scorpio on her back. I had to laugh at the irony and naturally tease her about it. She still blushes when I tell her it's my permanent mark of conquest. She now constantly mocks that I'm making love to myself when we go to bed. I always respond with a terrible joke about how I'm going to 'embrace her eternity' and we naturally forget about it in favor of making love, or just a quick tumble, whichever she feels like. I'm tempted to research some kinky things we could do, but I'll settle with learning how to use our biotics in bed. I might just ask Aethyta tomorrow for some tips._

I internally sigh.

_I still don't let Rila see everything during our melds, just as far as me waking up on a bench in a park goes, nothing further back. She's frustrated about that, especially since I've seen her's._

I smile sadly as my lies instantly comes back up to haunt me once again.

"*sigh*, She really doesn't deserve me..." Leaning back against the balcony railing I raise my hand and play with my biotics as I wait, creating small rises and dips in gravity to pass the time.

* * *

"Entering system now." Brill announces to his captain.

Neria watches as the screen in front of them shakes with the ship before they drop out of FTL just at the edge of a black hole. Instantly Neria's eyes widen in shock. The entire ship lists to the side.

"BY THE SPIRITS!" Grill shouts before he and Brill kick the thrusters and jump to full power just to even out the gravity well dragging the small Asari frigate into the black hole's accretions disk.

"GET US OUT OF HERE!" Neria shouts in a panic.

Brill hits the FTL and everyone in the ship is tossed into the backs of their seats as the motion dampeners fail from a systems overload.

"HOLD ONTO SOMETHING!" Grill screams as Brill struggles to reach out and end the FTL jump.

Ship-wide warnings blare in multiple languages that the engine shielding was failing.

"AH!" Brill hits the display, ending the jump. The restarting motion dampeners can't keep up with the sudden momentum jump as it hurls multiple crew members across the ship, Brill slamming his face against the bulkhead and Grill breaking a mandible on his dashboard as a result.

"Damage report!" Neria shouts while rubbing the bleeding cut on her forehead.

Grill groans as the displays spark before dying. Every light and system goes dark shipwide instantly.

**"YOU ARE NOT SCORPIO"** Blares across all channels in a deep, sinister voice that sends chills down the entire crew's spines.

"What's happening?!" Neria shouts out.

"We lost all power! My omni-tool doesn't even work!" Grill reports as he stabs at the band on his wrist frantically.

**"HE HAS BETRAYED MY TRUST TOO MANY TIMES!"** A high-pitched buzzing hits their ears and everyone screams out in pain. Before it all goes black.

"No-" Neria passes out and slumps forwards onto her panel.

A flickering light in the hallway behind the bridge outlines a black figure stepping slowly to the front of the ship through the black void, metal boots clanging against the floor as the shadow slowly makes his way to the front. **"THERE IS NOTHING I CAN'T DO."** It states with three voices, one calm and almost caring, another powerful and full of determination, the third demonic and sinister with every breath. It flicks it's finger and Neria's chair spins around. It grips her by the throat and looks at her face in the flashing light. **"SO FEEBLE, AND YET..."** The shadow whips it's head around to see the lights flickering online from the back of the ship to the front. It sits down with Neria as the lights turn back on fully. Neria chokes out as the black smoke that the shadow was made of absorbs into her body. She writhes in her sleep before falling forwards and to her knees and passing out from the exertion as her head hits the floor.

**HEH HEH HEH...**

* * *

Neria's vision comes back to her and she gasps out as her senses return to her. She's in her bed. It was just a dream, it was just a dream. She holds her breath as her cabin door slides open to show a shadow. **"YOU ARE NOW MINE..."** It rushes up and Neria screams out just before it touches her.

* * *

She jumps out of bed, panting and crying at the horrific nightmare that played with her mind. "What... why is this happening?" She shuts her eyes tight, trying and failing to block out the images of death and murder that drove her crazy weeks ago.

She shakes her head and pulls her arm restraints up high enough to hold her head in her hands. She was a prisoner now and she had only one person to blame for all of it. "Scorpio..." She breaths with so much malice that her teeth snap shut as the last sylible of his name reaches her ears.

_Why did I trust him! Why did I agree to help him?!_

She pounds her fists against the soft bed she's tied to in a futile effort to break free of her torment and just go back to her normal life. Just forget everything and find her daughter and bondmate.

_I'm alone..._

* * *

Neria stops crying for the first time in maybe a month, maybe a year, she can't remember too much about the past anymore. Just her anger and rage towards Scorpio, the Protector of Thessia, the destroyer of her life. "He is dead to me..." She hears herself mumble quietly as she curls up into a ball and holds her emotions in a tight vice. She was transferred to this metal box while she was sleeping. At least she could move around if she wanted, not stand since the ceiling is too low, but roll around a bit to know she was still alive. "I just want to go home..." She can't cry anymore, she doesn't have the energy.

* * *

White lights, white searing lights burning into her retinas. "Please!" She shrieks out for the thousandth time, surprisingly it stops. The blackness returns as she struggles to stay conscious. She tries to move and finds her hands are bound behind her, she was sitting in a chair and her feet were strapped under water below her. They felt pruned and raw from the constantly moving water, but she could stand it, just barely, but she could. She had to withstand it.

They ask her questions, what happened, how it happened, where she was, how she got there, everything. She was... woken up in a hospital a week ago. Doctors and nurses treated her silently as she simply watched them, dead inside from the horror she lived through. Every little thing she remembers from the incident above the garden world Scorpio sent her ship to makes her ask one question...

_Why? Why did this happen?_

Of course she can't speak, she just... she can't even begin to describe the horror of what it felt like to- She tears up again as they ask the simple question for the thousandth time. "What happened to your crew?" She looks at the Asari in front of her, she was blueish purple with vibrant blue eyes, a police uniform, no, an officer's police uniform. Her name is Rila. She helped her escape the darkness when it got bored of her and left her to die.

Neria looks off into space once again and remembers the sick twisted and perverted things the... darkness made her do to her crew. "I killed them..." Her voice is dead, she lost all emotion after slicing Brill's neck and dropping the ship, HER ship, into the planet surface below. The darkness left just in time for her to hop into the last escape shuttle and get into a high orbit around the planet before she passed out.

The Asari next to Rila scribbles down on a data pad and shakes her head. "Why did you murder your crew?" She asks bluntly.

"Vera!" Rila instantly reprimands the nurse and sadly looks back to Neria for an answer.

Neria's voice finally comes to her, "The darkness is coming. It will destroy you all, it is unstoppable."

The nurse sigh agitatedly and stomps out of the small recovery room Rila had permanently booked for her, Neria never understood why she liked Rila, but she does. "They will all come. The sky... the sky will darken with-"

Rila cuts her off, "The sky? You never mentioned the sky before. What is the sky?" she asks comfortingly.

The door opens again as Neria goes to speak, but her voice dies in her throat as she sees who's in the doorway. A man, in a dark bodysuit, walks inside and she watches as he steps up to sit in the corner. "The darkness knows you." He stops just before the chair and looks at her. She smiles for the first time in... forever. "He will find you Dylan and he will kill you for your treachery. The sky will darken with numbers beyond counting, you will bow before the masters." Neria breaths before convulsing as her message has been delivered. The medical equipment beeps franticly before flat-lining completely as Neria stops shaking, her eyes lose the life in them and a stream of blood drips out of her smiling mouth at the last piece of the puzzle falls into place.

The nurses stand at the door, staring at Rila who's by this point pushed Scorpio up against a wall bioticly. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" She screams in his face. All she gets is a dead expression, his eyes displaying absolute horror at the situation. The nurses are pushes aside by a massive figure. "Furious anxiety, What is happening in here? Neria! Neria!" The Elcor bondmate of Neria shouts out as the combined biotics of eight nurses barely holds the massive creature out of the room. Scorpio failed. The mission failed. So many had died for him.

* * *

I sit back into my recliner while going over the last bits of information the only survivor from the crash, one of the Turian pilots named Grill, had given when my rescue ship arrived. I read his report out-loud, "After the crash we were attacked by wild creatures and barely held them off until we retreated into a cave for the night. A shadow stalked us throughout the entire night, killing off one crew member at a time until daylight showed and only myself and Relen, the chief engineer, were left. The resulting cuts and gashes from running through what I can only describe is barbed wire bushes resulted in myself and Relen being heavily poisoned. He- he sacrificed himself during the last push towards the rescue shuttle to keep myself alive." I shake my head as the words of the only sane survivor tears deeply into my soul.

_Why? Why didn't I just go myself?_

I toss the data pad onto the coffee table, completely numb from the events I had to witness over the last few months.

I let my face fall into my gloved hands, "Neria... why did he choose you? What was special about you?" I mumble out, just trying to keep calm after such a catastrophe.

_I found the planet. A major find for my company, and I'm the only one who knows where it is officially so I have complete rights to colonization, mining, and archaeological recovery on the surface._

I reach over and take a glass of water from the small nightstand next to me.

_I sent teams down to deactivate the signal that had caused the ship to crash, an ancient gravimetric cannon thousands of years old. Something so powerful that it could take out a star at full power. I naturally nuked it into oblivion using a device Mein was able to pull together in a moments notice to disable it permanently._

I take a sip and sigh at the refreshing pure deionized water I had brought in from the carrier I borrowed from the trip.

_Five more people died recovering a strange energy shard from a crypt in the substructures of the cannon. Mein is studying it now, as well as putting together a small research team to scout out the rest of the planet._

Rila walks by, her face absolutely frozen solid with grief. "Time will tell if what I did was right." I murmur half-heartedly. She stops moving and turns to stare at me before stepping over into the kitchen and out of sight.

_Why couldn't I have just went myself? I'm a fucking coward! I'm a terrible terrible-_

I sigh and pound back the tasteless water before staring at the glass in my hand for a moment.

_Thousands of billions of molecules coming together into one solidified object in a crystalline form just to create this glass..._

I close my eyes.

_For all my knowledge and strength I still can't save everyone. I can't save everyone._

I grind my teeth at the thought.

_I can't save everyone._

"Dylan?" I look over to find Rila handing a glass of dark liquid to me. I take it and silently thank her as she sits down on the edge of the coffee table to face me.

_Neria didn't deserve to die, I deserve to die._

"Dylan I know what you're thinking." She says quietly. I blink at her lazily. She bites her lower lip in worry and sorrow. "I've seen a lot of terrible things too, and I'm still here."

I shake my head and stand up to walk away, she catches me by the arm. "You are not worthless, you just made a decision."

I look at her tiredly, "Every decision I make gets more people killed."

Rila grips my arm tighter, "Damn it just- just focus on what you're accomplishing for one fucking moment!"

I can't move, I want to go, to just jump off the balcony outside and fall to my death, to just end the horror that I've inflicted upon others so regularly. "I know, believe me Rilana I hate what I'm doing and I can see the accomplishments just fine." But I can't do that to her. "But I just can't let the ends justify the means." I take in a shaky breath as tears come to my eyes, "I can't not see you Rila. I can't not have you here to keep me here. I-" She crushes me with a tight hug and I hate how easily it makes me break down.

_'The road to hell is paved with good intentions.' I know what that means now, I know why I'm a coward. I know why I have to keep training._

"What did she mean by the darkness Dylan?" I shut my eyes tight, knowing that I couldn't tell her anything about it. I had to hold it back once again, lie once again to the only person who keeps me sane.

I rub her back and just take in her scent, "Nothing, just- nothing."

_And I will forever hate myself for having to do what I do to end this war. Let the Spirits, Gods and Goddesses have mercy on the lost souls aboard the __Torniquen...  
_

* * *

A/N And we finish up a character building chapter. You know, after rereading it again while triple checking for mistakes, I'm actually content to where this chapter ended up. The next chapter, Chapter 22 will be coming out next Saturday or Sunday the 6th and 7th of September.

Also I'm going to be revising the earlier chapters for spelling or grammar errors so if you find an error please PM me. It'll help me out a lot. :)

Anyways, everyone have a great day and I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Scorpio's Legacy. Which is NOT DEAD! :P

I'm sorry! I got too over zealous with my writing and now Thane is going to be in later chapters! Originally I planned out this story with 27 chapters but now I'm at around 32. So the increased content is why the Thane wasn't in chapter nineteen and WILL be in later chapters. Sorry, had to add the Thessia Invasion to make it more awesome. ;)


	22. Flying Silver Balls of Doom

A/N I'm back! :) College is finally bearable again and I have too much free time to spare!

I'd like to personally thank every single one of you that kept this story in mind while I took an informal Hiatus. Everyone here is awesome.

Here's the next chapter in Scorpio's Legacy and as always... Read, Review, and Enjoy!

* * *

A Thessia sunrise is one of the most beautiful naturally occurring things in the galaxy. The first breaking of dawn floods the air with a warmth that fills you to the core. The light refracts into an array of dozens of hues and vibrancies that just takes the breath away...

I take a deep breath as I continue to stare into the burning ball of energy that was the local star.

_I love it here._

I turn my back to the sunrise, leaning back against my balcony ledge as the star's intense rays warm my back. I close my eyes and finally calm my mind and soul.

_I am at peace, I am-_

* * *

_"Hey, we're in position."_

My eyes snap open to stare into the complete darkness in front of my face as Rila's voice breaks me from my Solipsism and I ready my pistol. I left the rifle back at home since this was a stealth mission.

I reach up to my ear to respond, "Understood. When I bust out, light it up. Darkness is our friend here until the alarm hits."

_"Got it..." _

I wait as I hear her pause.

_ "Are you sure you want to go in alone? We could do this together you know."_ Rila's voice wavers as her words quietly echo their meaning through my mind.

_I want this to be quick and painless, not loud and full of hurt. I can't imagine her getting hurt because of me._

Of course I don't actually voice my concern and simply say, "I'll be fine Rila, I'll meet up with you when this is done." before ending the transmission.

Taking a deep breath I let the rapidly cooling air fill my very bones with determination.

_I've trained for much worse than this._

I roll my shoulders to get the stiffness out and adjust the omni-tool bands on my wrists out of sleep mode. The two optimized displays light up the small confined space around me a low frequency blood red as they do. Selecting the new omni-welder program Mein drew up last week, I cut through the grate I've been sitting next to for half an hour waiting for the sun to go down and pry it off before hopping inside.

_What I would do without her I have no idea._

I pull the grate back into place and release my grip to fall some distance before landing silently with acrobatic precision inside the deep ventilation shaft.

_Those Asari Martial Arts classes are paying off. I'll have to thank Leron next time I see him._

I look down and start the timer on my watch, watching the seconds tick down from 7:30 to 7:20 before moving on, pistol in hand.

_I hope Rila's team is ready to extract on a moments notice or this is not going to go according to plan at all._

I bring up the map I downloaded and set a path before crawling ahead for a bit in the confined space, careful not to make a sound.

Reaching the next lid I stab my dual omni-blades through to cut out an opening before jumping out onto the lower rooftop. Double-checking the map I close the lid and look around in the increasing darkness for an opening. "Night-vision." I whisper behind my opaque mask. Lia understands and instantly I can see the sunroof over the warehouse light up with my suit's enhanced tracking technology. "Nice." Using my own enhanced eyes takes too much out of me and requires too much focus for such a crucial job, so I often resort to technology for these menial tasks.

_Rila's informants had better be right about this place or we are screwed._

Lighting up my primary omni-tool I hack through the sunroof latch a few feet away and open it up a crack to spot three patrolling guards huddled around below me.

"Where's our reinforcements?" One Eclipse engineer asks.

"How the hell should I know? I was hired to protect some commander not ask questions." The Asari to the Salarian's left responds lazily while the third decides to stay quiet and watch the exits.

I check my watch: 6:55.

_Here we go._

I hop through using my biotics to control my fall while increasing my mass at the last second to crush the already alert of the three into the cement floor with a muffled crunching sound.

"What the-?" The other two barely squeak out as they turn to me, and end up trapped in the warp field I toss at them. They stagger back in shock as I wince at the searing pain in my fingertips.

_I hate warp so fucking much..._

Taking the opportunity presented; I activate and slash my dual omni-blades through both their throats. They crumble to the ground, obviously dead, as I move on to take cover behind a crate as the second group of three turn the corner.

"What the hell was that?" One asks in confusion.

My experienced combat training has my hands switch to my dagger and pistol as I roll around the corner to slap them in a wide Stasis bubble. I rush up and ignore the surprised looks on their faces as I slice their throats as well, opting to stay silent for as long as possible. A moment later the stasis drops and their bodies hit the floor in a triple _thump_.

I don't take a second to rest and rush ahead to where LIA's automatic detection system pinpoints another target about to round the corner. I turn around it and duck under her pistol while latching onto the trooper's belt with my left hand as my right omni-blade finds her heart. I watch the life blood pour out of her and sizzle into a red mist on the glowing diamond-hard blade as she goes limp with my left gloved hand shifting up to muffle her yelp of surprise.

"Shh..." I whisper while setting her on the ground and pushing aside the guilt of the easy kill.

_Can't help them, I can never help them._

I move quickly into cover and check my watch: 6:20.

_I'm behind already._

My eyes widen as I hear a familiar whirling sound from over my cover.

_Oh shit..._

I ready my biotics and peek over to see single heavy YIMIR mech powering up as it stomps its way out of it's crate.

_Son of a bitch._

"Scorpio!" The deep booming voice of one Urdnot Kantor reverberates through the newly installed speaker system above me. My eyes immediately find the hulking Krogan smirking through the plate-glass window of the observatory high above me on the far side of the room.

"Surrender Kantor and I might decide to spare your life!" I shout out, trying to taunt the cannibal Krogan.

He laughs at my pathetic attempt, "You are going to die today Scorpio, you and that whore Commissioner of yours!" His massive hand smashes down and a loud buzzing noise sounds as two more crates open up to the original YMIR mech's left and right, showing another pair starting up.

_Oh... shit._

The overhead lights flash on, blinding me for a second as LIA kicks my display off of night-vision. I look back to him for a moment to see him holding a small, blinking detonator. "You see those tanks around you?"

I peer around without turning my head to spot several dozen barrels of-

"Pure dust-form eezo. I'm sure you know what happens when a spark goes off next to it." He clarifies smugly.

I growl out in fury as my anger at his strategy fuels my biotics to near the edge of rage.

He sees me losing control and thumbs the detonator, "Surrender or I'll destroy fifty city blocks, including your company's warehouse!"

I don't take an single second to think, "I will never surrender Kantor! Now give up! The Eclipse are gone! No one is coming to help you!"

He grins unsettlingly, "Oh I know, and that's why I'm-" My adrenaline spikes as I see his finger press down on the detonator

_NO!_

I reach my hand out and use my igniting biotic rage to grasp at the current of Dark Energy around me, using my enhanced cybernetic reflexes and concentrated biotics to tear a massless channel into the armored box. The intense force of the field shatters the plate-glass into a million shards as I collapse the field around me, planting my physical body thirty meters across and fifteen meters further up than it was less than a deci-second earlier. All of this intense burst of energy and complex series of calculation results in me standing behind Kantor and turning around to kick the detonator out of his hand. I then reach out and crush it in an intense biotic field before it can transmit its signal to the bombs as my adrenaline cuts off and everything speeds up again as my cybernetics deactivate in sequence.

"Wha-?" I gasp in shock at what I just did.

_Holy god... I just-_

"RAAARRRR!" Kantor swings his massive trunk of an arm at me, hitting me square in the chest and tossing me into the terminal across the room, cracking the display. "DIE!" He screams as he reaches around to his back for his Tech Hammer.

My eyes widen into dinner plates as I watch the half-ton of thick and poorly forged metal hammer coming down at me. "Fuck!" I duck and roll as fast as I can as the hammer simply rips the terminal behind me to shreds. The resounding reverb. from the impact actually manages to bend the thick metal floor under our feet.

I just stare in shock as my mind calculates the amount of force he actually just exerted to be around 6000 Newtons.

_Oh... fuuuuuu-_

"GET BACK HERE!" He shouts in his fury as I turn and bolt out of the room as fast as I can.

I keep running and don't look back as turn to my immediate right and jump over the railing to fall briefly and land onto the back of a confused YIMIR. I take the opportunity and hack into the main processors via omni-tool.

_Come on, place that file there, re-route the programing software through a separate system... THERE!_

I fall off of it and scurry into cover as its lights blink on and off until they stop and everything restarts with a green outline due to my LIA's IFF system.

_YES!_

Now under a new master's control it turns to fire a rocket at Kantor as he makes up to the railing.

"IFF system rerouted, I'll save the process for later automatic usage and refine it as the battle progresses."

"Thanks LIA."

_What would I do without her?_

"BRAH!" Kantor yells as the rocket impacts and explodes against his shields, staggering him back.

"Engaging." My mech states as it swaps to a chain gun and peppers his four inch thick platted armor with flecks of metal. "Warning, target has sufficient armor, assistance required."

Kantor shifts against the barrage and starts back towards his office to immediately get on the intercom, "Shoot him you pieces of scrap metal!"

Instantly the other two YMIRs turn to face me and LIA paints them red on my HUD.

"LIA?" I ask worriedly as I silently wish I brought a rocket launcher with me.

"Target acquired." They each launch a rocket as I stand my ground and barely have time to deflect them bioticly.

"One moment... Accessing external channels." A burst-transmission goes out as I ready myself to engage the other two YMIRs only to see both of them instantly flicker and turn to fire at Kantor as my HUD paints them green.

"Thanks!" I shout out while taking the second to breath, my spine was already burning from overusing my biotics.

"BE DESTROYED BY MY AWESOMENESS!" Kantor leaps from the railing, hammer in both hands, to come down on top of the first mech and crush it into the floor with his body weight. He then swigs his hammer down, literally smashing the massive mech into chunks of metal and shrapnel before reaching into the mech while the other two are still firing at him to rip out the beeping explosive device. "TAKE THIS!"

He chucks it at the two others and I have to throw up a biotic dome to block the huge explosion that ends up tearing them apart.

_That crazy mother fucker!_

Fire and smoke rages through the warehouse, threatening to detonate the tanks of eezo stored around us in crates.

The moment passes and I drop my dome to pant out in surprise that the eezo barrels hadn't detonated. I can't see Kantor anywhere either, everything is completely quiet, and my visibility is shit in all the dust. I end up stumbling into the cloud, looking for anywhere I can hold out for when Kantor recovers from the blast.

_If he survived the blast._

"Little Pyjak." I stiffen and he grabs me from behind.

I scream out in shock and pain as he hurls me across the room and into the far wall. I hear a sickening crunch on impact and slump down to the ground in blinding pain.

_OH FUCKING GOD DAMN IT!_

I wait for my suit to inject some painkillers and sigh as they numb the searing pain on my left side. Staggering to my feet I grab my broken left arm in a daze, Kantor and my weapons no-where in sight. "LIA?" I ask quietly as I notice the impact had cracked my helmet's display and broke my suit's seal. She doesn't respond, but a message cuts through my ear piece.

"Y- yo-?" I barely hear it from my busted radio and switch over to my omni, manually calibrating the system as I go to clear it up, "Hello? Scorpio? Dylan are you still there?" It's Rila and she sounds panicked.

I cough out some tainted dust that's seeping into my suit and say, "Rila I'm injured, get in here now!" My omni returns with static and I try to switch over to no avail. as I see someone is jamming me. "What the hell?"

"Rila's team is already on there-" LIA's cut off as the lights flash out and plunge me into darkness. A shiver crawls up my spine as a murderous laugh of a certain Krogan echoes through the warehouse.

_Oh god..._

I take a step forwards and I can hear my footsteps, something extremely unsettling as I normally never can.

"Your suit has been damaged, environmental hazards cannot be isolated and dust form eezo is being released into the air." LIA explains the dire situation bluntly.

"Oh great." I whisper quietly through my cracked and malfunctioning helmet. I look down and see the timer has already reached zero, reinforcements from the Eclipse will reach here soon. Within a few minutes if I'm lucky. I groan as I catch myself on a crate to avoid falling over from the bones shifting around in my chest.

_I must have hit that wall going forty miles per hour!_

"Your ribs are-"

"I know LIA!" I bite out as quietly as I can while in blinding pain.

_Ok, have to find help and try to avoid Kantor, I can't fight like this._

I stagger into the darkness... hoping that I'm not found by Kantor and Rila can make it to me in time...

* * *

My training with Aethyta and Jeilus in meditation helps me stay calm and not jump at every small noise around me.

_I just had to come alone didn't I?_

My eyes dart around as another crate behind me clunks and echoes through the warehouse, testing my already fraying nerves.

"Where are you?"

I freeze as a large shadow steps out from behind what looks like another crate and turns to stare me down. It sniffs the air and I can feel my immediate fear and anxiety breaking down my meditations one Sutra at a time.

"Nothing." It mutters before turning, and walking towards the area where I came from so silently I have to watch his shadow to know he's actually moving.

_How the hell does a Krogan that big move that quietly?_

I sigh in relief and move on towards where I think the exit is.

* * *

Heavy breathing hits my face through the cracks of my helmet as I round the last corner. I stop and stare at the huge body in front of me, hoping my luck held today.

"_SNIFF_, What is that smell? It smells like..." He leans forwards and his eye meet my own in the darkness.

We stare at each other for what feels like hours, just watching each-other stare their opponent down without fear. I barely breath, knowing the smallest change in my facade of confidence would kill me.

I have to stifle a cough as the tickling of dust-form eezo in the back of my throat is what my mind tells me is searing pain of my lungs and esophagus burning from exposure.

_Where the hell is Rila?!_

…

"You are Scorpio." Kantor speaks softly, if a Krogan could ever manage the feat.

I don't move, don't think, just keep my internal freak-out internal and my meditations external with word-play and verses of Asari poetry I looked-

"I am Urdnot Kantor, an outcast from my clan for deciding our lack of sanitized water was a problem."

I can hear the anger and pain in his voice, and I decide to look at him, really look at him, for the first time. My studies of cross-species body language on the side tell me of the intelligence in his eyes, the spark there that speaks of a better future for the Krogan, something I never thought to see before Wrex.

_But is he as reasonable as Wrex?_

…

…

"You don't need to die." I say finally, apparently my mouth making up my mind for me.

He nods and looks as if he's listening intently in the darkness, still intimidating as all hell though.

I open my mouth to speak and the door behind him blast open as Rila's team bursts through. The flooding of light forces me to hold up my uninjured and bloody right hand from my bleeding chest to shield my eyes. They spot me immediately and throw me on a stretcher. I recall Rila yelling at me about being an idiot while we flew to the local hospital.

Later on in the week during my recovery I was told Kantor escaped the planet an hour later and quietly breathed a sigh of anxiety and relief when Rila wasn't looking.

_I either have made a terrible decision or made an incredible al-_

* * *

"Ralen Walin" The announcer at the podium addresses as a dark purple skinned Asari steps out of the back room and onto the stage to accept her designation.

I blink as I'm kicked out of my old memories and focus back on the present. I look up to see I'm still eight people back and breathe out a sigh of relief that it wasn't my turn yet. I look around the curtain and see Benesia in the crowd outside.

_This is nerve-wracking._

I take a deep breath and calm my mind like Aethyta and Benesia taught me and look over at the rest of my classmates. My eyes roam over them as I recall all their names, all their families, all their lives in perfect clarity as if we'd just had a conversation about each of them.

_They all deserve this as much as I._

I close my eyes at look over my speech again, keeping it memorized just in-case.

_Just in-case the whole world goes to hell and the Eclipse invade the planet using Batarian cruisers... again._

I'm the top of my biotics class. I fought and... bled for this, and I'm the only one of them who could have done it. I fold my hands behind my back and stand tall and proud in my graduation armor, no weapons besides biotics were allowed on campus, but I was allowed my creature comforts. My armor wasn't its normal inky black, it was white with the Academy's purple and blue emblem across my chest. I kept a hood though, no-one truly knew what my face looked like yet, not the general public anyway. Another secret Ardania kept from the Asari people.

_Graduation... I can't believe I'm here._

I smile for the first time in a while and look up over the heads of my classmates to see the High Priestess herself handing out our distinctions.

_Ardania... I have no idea what it is, but I feel so... nervous around her. Like she can see into my very soul and tell me my secrets.  
_

"Yevera T'onis" Everyone applauds as the dark purple Asari with black eyebrow tattoos walks out and takes her new bio-scan from Ardania, showing her DNA as that of a Huntress, a warrior.

_That's another thing..._

I cross my arms as Yevera starts her own short speech.

_Unlike the rest of the Asari in my class, Yevera never took the fifteen years martial biotics training needed before applying at the Academy. That little bitch used her family's political influence to jump right into the Academy. I'm not complaining, it meant I wasn't the only person that never took the 15yrs of discipline training usually needed to become a Huntress, or a Hunter in my case. What angers me the most is that she's a slacker. I took my lack of training as a reason to push harder than everyone else and do my best._ _She, on the other hand, wasn't in class for over half the year, and she was one of the worst of the class. A short-tempered isolationist with parents in politics... an absolute saint by no accounts but her own. She believes she's a goddess because she graduated through bribes and political favors. She could show Nassana a thing or two about paranoia._

"Parthia Reola"

_Parthia, another interesting character, she actually fought more ferociously than any of us. Her father was a Batarian and her mother a merchant whose father was a Volus so... yeah, she's pretty strange. And more importantly she held off a hundred mechs during the invasion and nearly single-handedly held the flank off of Feirna so the survivors that took shelter at her gun shop lived through the nightmare. She earned her respect._

I look off into the distance as I remember the last big fight she had in the courtyard...

_Oh by the Goddess..._

...and cringe as I remember what her fist did to that practice dummy's head when Yevera called her weak.

_She's a controlled fighter, ferocious, but controlled. Reminds me of Morinth for some reason._

"Telia Tevani"

I smile for this one, Telia's a good friend. One of the few people that aren't threatened by my status.

_Being best-buds with the only Alien Protector of Thessia can really be useful, and beneficial. I'm just glad Rila didn't bash her head in when she found out!_

Turns out Telia and Rila used to be friends in grade-school, or at least whatever classifies as public school on Thessia. They used to get into so many bad situations that Telia's mother moved off-world to keep them away. It never helped them stay apart and two hundred years later they're still great friends.

_Everyone gives there own speech... but I have to give the only IMPORTANT one of the evening. The one that will determine the future of the academy, yes, but beyond that it will define the relationship between the Asari Republics and the Alliance for the next decade. That's what I get for fighting to be the best of the best and somehow getting caught shaking hands with Hackett on camera. I think Mein did it just to piss me off.  
_

A bird flies past Ardania and two seconds later it's ripped apart by her bodyguard's heavy warp and falls to the ground to be hauled away and incinerated later only after the autopsy.

_Security is extremely high after the invasion... hell I'd call Armali a militaristic state if it wasn't for the open trade center.  
_

An APC officer on every block, new anti-invasion cannons being brought online monthly, billions of credits deverted to military spending simply because the public is terrified of another invasion.

_I hear the other city-states around Thessia are still debating whether the invasion was a fluke or not. I've been staying out of it, no need to mess around with Asarian politics when more military spending might actually help against the Reapers in a few years._

I peer outside and see some of the crowd gawk at the bird remains as if they just executed a person on galactic broadcast. I simply shrug at their squeamishness and fold my hands behind my back respectively, letting the tight bodysuit show off my hunter's physic. Hundreds of training sessions, thousands of hours of meditation, maybe a million workouts in Asari Martial Arts... all of them contributed with my cybernetics to give me an almost Olympian-like appearance I'm sure Rila enjoys.

_And it helps a lot when you can fall back on your muscles when you run out of option in the Biotic department. _

I take a moment for myself and close my eyes with a regretful sigh as I'm reminded of what had to be done merely a week ago.

_They never tell you what you have to do to become the top of your class at AAH, all they say is that you have to want it._

I shake my head and let my thoughts drop into the most difficult 'test' they give you to be the best of them all...

* * *

Another glass of ice-brandy. I'm relaxing in my apartment one afternoon, just sitting down for a moment before my night classes start.

I remember I was watching the fall Bio-Ball championship. Armali was losing to Irenia, a colony at the edge of council space renounced for its sole ability to supply the galaxy with organicly grown Wera fruit, five to three and eight players had already been pulled out of the arena with deadly injuries. One more fall on Armali's side and Irenia would win the championship for the first time in over eight centuries. It was a historical event and I smiled sadly at the strangely humbling idea that everything could be so... normal for so long before the Reapers come knocking on everyone's proverbial door.

I remember the timing was perfect. One moment I'm taking a sip of brandy, another I'm unconscious from the concentration of sedatives finally reaching a high enough dosage to overcome my cybernetics. I had drank two bottles before my eyes drooped and I fell to my own murderous subconscious...

* * *

I woke in a forest. It was dark, the evening mist rolling in from the lower parts of the black woods. I remember panicking when I found all my armor and weapons gone from my possession, even my clothes were missing. I thought that it might have been a dream, but after cutting my palm with a splinter of wood and feeling every part of it I knew it was no illusion.

"Where am I?" I looked around more closely and saw that the plants and trees around me were curled and glistening with a metallic tint. I knew at that moment that I was on a dextro-amino based planet.

My second moment of panic was short as I remembered the championship and discovered I had been drugged as it always takes more than two seconds for me to go to sleep and I doubted that my entire lifetime of insomnia was finally going to change so suddenly.

I forged for something non-toxic for me to wear, or at least something I could use as a food source. Finding none, I wandered for hours until I came across a field of rocks. The sharp gray boulders slanted up towards the sky to mirror the solar winds that no-doubt carved the sixty meter tall clearing.

_The atmosphere, or at least the magnetic field of this place is weak._

I reach out to touch the closest rock nervously. Then a noise forced me to pause and turn my eyes onto the shadow aiming something at me from just inside the treeline. Everything slows and I turn to see them fire before I can even register the twanging sound. My enhanced and honed reflexes barely allow me to dodge the sharded shaft of metal as I jumped into the field of rocks and ran. Another arrow hits the rock-face near my side and ricochets to the left, barely missing my neck as I stopped to biotically warp a rock pillar, making it shatter and rain onto the path behind me. I escaped the first ambush unharmed, now knowing my situation even better than before...

* * *

Aethyta warned me, actually that isn't accurate... She FORCED me to understand that Ardania had a sadistic sense of humor, and as such her reign as High Priestess has been... violent to say the least. Before she was 'voted' into office the bio-ball championships banned the use of deadly force and power to win the games, now you get pardoned for murdering a rival member of the team on galactic television. The thing Aethyta emphasized the most was Ardania's focus on the future of Thessia, and the Asari's top biotic school... AAH. She personally appointed the most disgraceful Matriarch in her eyes to teach the worst hiccup of her 'perfect' Republic... me. I'm the only mistake she ever made, allowing me to stay alive, allowing me to stay on Thessia and fly under her radar until the invasion assured my permanent residence on the Asari Homeworld.

I take another step forwards, noting the distasteful glare Ardania gives me as she smiles at the next graduate, her only granddaughter.

_Parlith Ardania, a racist, species-ist, age-ist, and any other 'ist's you can thing of, the worst of the worst._

I see her stagger a bit as she puts a little too much pressure on her left leg and I have to stifle a smile at the injury I know for its... taste.

* * *

Day four, I've ran out of food and now am resorting to stealing bits and pieces of ration bars from the Huntresses at night when they drift into their sleep. They caught on after last night's failure and now they have a patrol always walking around their camp.

_Hmph, some patrol, there's barely three Huntresses scouting the parameter._

I step along the thick tree branch carefully, using subtle shifts and changes in the air to my advantage as I jump from tree to tree and right over their pathetic guards. I crouch before leaping down into a bush.

"Huh, what was that?" I hear one Huntress ask, now on high alert.

"What was what?" I stop in shock as I hear a familiar voice.

"Go check it out, we're running out of rations and that bastard isn't going to slip past us this time."

I pull my makeshift woven stem cloak closer to my skin and lay flat against the ground, becoming the landscape, another tip I picked up during stealth operations.

The Huntress steps over silently, feeling around her for any change in heat or energy that might indicate an intruder. My stomach growls at the last moment as she turns and out of a barbaric urge to get something in my belly I lunge at her leg and sink my teeth into her exposed calf, "AH! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!" Her lack of discipline forces her muscles to contract, tearing her entire muscle apart as I get a good chunk of her leg in the one bite.

_Holy... fuck... I just-  
_

I turn and dash away as the others all toss warps and throws in my direction. I get about a half mile away and back to my cave just as I hear Parlith's screams finally stop as she passes out from the pain. I had a meal and she inadvertently kept her life, a win-win in my book.

* * *

_Oh... Parlith... so sinfully tasty. I'm almost sad you were one of two Huntresses to actually survive through that whole mission._

I nearly gag at my terrrible joke as I remember how disgusting resorting to cannibalism was for me. The entire mission tested your mental and physical fortitude and apparently it was expected to do some insane shit to survive when you're a Hunter, or Huntress.

_I don't even know why she wasn't wearing her armor leggings at the time, but I'm guess I'm just more lucky than most it would seem._

Another graduate comes and goes as I remember the hard-won victory I claimed on day twelve.

* * *

Hundreds of billions of miles. That's what I figured out using ground to planetary tracking of the lunar cycles and the galactic star patterns I studied from the archives at AAH. I pinpointed the largest pulsars using my cybernetic upgrades and used their timing as a reference. After three days of continuous studying of the night sky I could only come to one conclusion...

"I'm in the Hades gamma system. Three fourths the way across the galaxy from Thessia and only a few hundred light years away from Earth. Just perfect." I shake my head at my calculation and don't even bother double checking it. I knew where I was.

Turning away from the stars, I jump off the fifty meter cliff I climbed up at sunset for the third time and land with a biotic roll into a lake I spotted on the way up. I waste no time like that first swim and get the hell out before the carnivorous marine life smelled my scent.

_The gravity here is less as well, maybe... .8 of Earths?_

I wince as I step out of the severely acidic water and feel the foot-long bite wound from the first jump sear in pain. "Fucking shark-salmon." I take a breath of air as I bolt through the brush as fast as I can to avoid catching the Relolk's attention... again. My half-artificial lungs instantly expand and contract accordingly, supplying my body with some much needed oxygen traces from the Krypton-thickened atmosphere at as I sped off back to my cave.

* * *

I jump off the ledge of my cave and land in the freshwater stream outside the entrance. The soles of my feet burn from dozens of sharpened rocks piercing into the rough calloused flesh. I ignore it as best I can and run inside to grab my stone ax I fashioned on day seven to combat the local wildlife. I immediately whip back around as the visitors arrive. The Huntresses were tracking me the entire way back. I wait for something to happen as I stare at the mouth of my cave, but only silence follows the rapid heartbeat in my ears.

…

Nothing but the bubbling of the acidic water cutting into the wounds under my feet is heard.

…

I don't take my chances and power up my biotics to form a weak barrier, all I could afford to do without any calories to burn.

…

Moments pass until they turn into minutes, then two hours and still nothing.

_I can wait for eternity._

* * *

The sun sets after the five hours of daylight is up and I'm forced to drop my barrier to run my enhanced vision. I see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, I just wait, wait for death to come.

**YOU ARE ABOUT TO FALL... THEN I FINALLY WIN.**

I don't react to the voice in my head and continue to wait for three minutes before the entrance explodes with five flash-bangs. I stagger back as the fierce light blinds me indefinitely.

"Ah!"

Two sniper shots hit my ax and it shatters into thousands of pieces from the kinetic force, mangling my left hand from the shrapnel.

"Damn it!"

"Surrender and die with honor Scorpio!" Their Commander shouts as she risks stepping inside my territory. I blend into the shadows and watch her as she steps up to the last bottle of drinkable water I neutralized. "Ardania is impressed Scorpio, she suspected you'd try and kill us immediately like the sick psychopath you are, but you didn't. You left the prey to stew in the silence of false safety."

I touch the stone with my uninjured hand as I crouch to enter the alcove I found near the pool of Paraná.

_Ardania? What is she talking about?_

I pause and look back at her as she steps over my makeshift bear-trap and up to the pool, "You are clever, resourceful, powerful, intelligent, resilient. Everything that a huntress must be, but she doesn't know what you did!" She kicks the handle of my axe into the pool and it hisses as it slowly desolves from the aqueous sulfuric acid.

"Who you've killed..." She bites out as she point her pistol and fires twice down the alcove to hit solid rock.

I step from the shadows from behind her and she whips around to fire into my shoulder. "Ah!" I take the shot and slap the pistol into the pool before dodging her aerial kick with an under slice of my biotics that tosses her into a spin which she redirects to warp where I used to be.

She kneels down and unsheaths her HVB shortblade and steps across the cave to stare at a star chart I carved there. "You are beyond inquisitive. Indeed we are inside the Hades Gamma Cluster."

She turns and swipes a cut across my cheek as I grab her leg and toss her into the rock to rip her already shredded armor off of her and break her shooting hand with a precise pressure punch, catching it between a rock wall and my cybernetically enhanced fist.

She winces and swipes a long gash down my side.

I dive back into the shadows and hold my bleeding hip.

"HA! Is that all you've got Scorpio? The pet favorite of Ardania can't murder a simple Asari huntress?"

_Murder? Who did I murder? What is she talking about?! They attacked me!_

Her silent steps pace around the outside edge of the shadows and she jabs into them at random intervals, trying to get at me.

I catch a glimpse of her exposed back and growl dangerously as I see an Eclipse tattoo.

_Murdered HER people. Now I understand._

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... I expected you to be harder to fight Scorpio." She warps my shadow as I rush past her and over to the pool again, looking down into it's murky depths hesitantly. "At least the others have no clue who I am. If I die in here you'd be declared a murderer and be executed. If I kill you I'll be the most celebrated Asari on Thessia, our people WILL return Scorpio..." She stalks me as I stand at the water's edge. "...and this time we'll make sure you and you're pathetic whore of a girlfriend aren't there to stop us."

I dive in, holding my eyes and mouth shut as I sink to the bottom due to the higher density from the increased metal my cybernetics give me.

_Five... four... three..._

I reach down and grab at the shining rock in the darkness and wince as it bits into my right hand.

_Two..._

I kick and make it to the surface to chuck the rock into her gut, the thin plate of refined silver I found in the riverbed goes through her body to shatter against the far cave wall.

She chokes out her shocked reaction and starts to fall into the pool but I catch her, my skin still burning from the acid. "You are not my problem to deal with." Is the first and last thing I say to her as she passes out from the intense trauma she endured. She was alive, but I still needed more answers.

* * *

"And lastly, the Protector of Thessia!" Ardania and everyone's clapping break me from my thoughts and I step out to nod to the crowd as I step up to the circular black-marble podium where Ardania stood in her traditional Priestess robes that flowed magnificently down from her quite large headdress.

"Thank you Ardania for the gracious introduction." I nod to her in respect and she forces herself to do the same for the cameras.

Everyone goes quiet out of respect for my position and I almost choke on my speech as I'm reminded how many people actually look up to me.

_Snap out of it!_

I blink slowly as I bring up the mental blueprint of my speech.

"Today I am standing here not as the Protector of Thessia, but as a fellow student in the art of Asari biotic training. I am not the legend that I am whispered of when I stand with my fellow graduates. I am simply a natural biotic." I declare with a profound strength I never thought my voice had.

The crowd starts murmuring at the news Ardania kept secret for years.

"Yes, the first non-Asari known in this galaxy to be a Natural Biotic. A Natural Biotic strong enough to be capable of enrolling in the Armali Academy of the Huntress and graduate at the top of my class. The highest honor anyone can ever bestow upon me as a Human."

I pause for two seconds as I smile at them, "Even though I may not be of your culture, your world, or even your species, I stand here proud of what we, as a group, have accomplished here."

The entire room is silent once more as I turn around to look over my fellow graduates.

"We as a group have taken on more than any one of us could ever accomplish alone."

I turn back to the crowd and cameras.

"We are Huntresses! We are Hunters! Let those who have taken the oath before us and will take it after remember this day as the day the Asari people opened their arms to the growing Galaxy and accepted an outsider into their ranks!"

I take my hands from behind my back to unclasp my hood and let it drop behind me, revealing my face to the world for the first time since I dropped into this universe.

Many in the audience gasp and more than a few omni-tools are whipped out to snap a photo as Ardania hands me the ceremonial sword of the first Huntress.

I take the white-steel katana in my hands gently, nodding to her as I grasp the hilt before pulling it away swiftly, slicing a thin line into my palm where my deep red blood starts almost immediately seeping out. I hold my fist out and let it drip into the impressions around the class plaque to create a red border. "The lives we give for Thessia are our own, we are one and all, we are the huntresses of Thessia." I speak out of tradition as I hand it to Ardania.

Ardania takes hold of the plaque and sends a light biotic pulse through it, activating the acrylic and sealing my blood, and all our names for eternity. The only physical document that identified all of us as the elite of Thessia would now be kept in the personal vault of the High Priestesses forever.

The entire crowd erupts into cheers as Ardania departs in her personal shuttle to deliver the plaque to it's final resting place. I leave the stand to ignore the reporters that instantly hound me about revealing my identity and wade through the crowd as I spot Benesia trying to leave.

_Come on move!_

"Uh, please allow me to pass."

The crowd shifts slightly and I step though quickly to subtly hold Benesia's shuttle to the ground bioticly. She rolls down the window and looks at me apologetically, "I am deeply sorry, but I must go."

I put my bloody hand on her skycar, "Time?"

She sighs, "She will be arriving within two hours at docking bay A14-B."

"Thank you." I let go and she speeds off to secure her assets before Liara's return.

_I can't believe it's already been five years. Well, I can believe it, but that's beside the point._

I let my already healed bloody left hand clasp around my half of the Prothean stone she gave me and I can almost feel her heartbeat resonating from her side.

_I never took it off unless I was forced to, and I know she never either since it never went dark. Hmph, I'm sure she had her own little panic when it darkened for two weeks straight during my "proving" in Hades Gamma.  
_

"Hmph, I never expected you to actually make it you know that?"

I drop my hands to my sides and turn to see Aethyta smirking at me as she leans against a wall dressed in her combat armor.

"What?"

She lifts a finger and gestures for me to follow as she turns to strut down the path beside her.

_Ok, what's happening?_

I frown as I secure my armor properly and seal it off, powering up the back-up barrier I was allowed to get installed. I follow her down a stone walkway and over to the Bio-Ball arena that was built off campus a century ago. I rush up to meet her stride and she hasn't stopped smiling.

"What's happening Aethyta?" I ask seriously.

She looks at me with a shit-eating grin and I gulp uncomfortably.

She goes back to walking in silence as we approach the entry door and let the guards identify us via omni-tool biometrics. "Welcome back Scorpio, Aethyta."

We nod to them and pass through the second and third security check points before walking out into the main arena itself. The flares of lights lands all around us as we step forwards and onto the first of twelve staggered platforms that represent the twelve trials of the Bio-Ball galactic championship.

_What are we doing here?_

A roaring blast hits us as the two hundred thousand-strong fully-filled crowd cheers at our presence.

I look over at Aethyta and see she's just smirking as our platform lifts up and cracks apart into two separate pieces to transport us to separate halves of the arena.

I barely understand and call up an instant video chat via omni-tool, "What are we doing here Aethyta?"

She laughs, "Man you are seriously dense right now! It's traditional that the top student at AAH fight their instructor in a one on one death-match in Bio-Ball! Now look alive!"

I blink as the vid cuts out and I'm left worrying about the time-line again.

_Fight to the death? What about-"  
_

I duck as a small metallic ball barely misses my head in it's trajectory. I follow it and see it arc around for a second attempt. "Fuck!" I hop over the side of the floating platform and guide myself onto one of the six square inch pedestals that sit by the dozen, elevated between ten and thirty meters off the ground. I crouch on my perch and feel the ball barely miss my back.

_Son of a bitch! No-one told me about this!_

The small silver ball arcs around again. I reach out to grab it with my biotics and whip it around directly towards where I think Aethyta's platform will be. Launching myself up and onto a circling square-foot platform pad, I watch as the sphere impacts and destroys the platform with Aethyta no-where to be found.

"Nice shot kid!" Her voice rings out from my left. I look over at a flash of dark purple and see Aethyta diving between pedestals expertly. "Too bad you won't last long enough to enjoy it!" She does a spinning back-flip and two balls appear around her just as she kicks them at tremendous speed directly at me.

I barely have time to register the obvious question of how a nearly thousand-year-old Asari with no prior formal training in martial arts can bend that way, before I notice the cannon balls heading right for my skull and duck.

_OH SHIT!_

I dive off just in time to fall for a moment and crack my side across a shifting pedestal.

"AH!" I latch onto the metal bar for dear life as my side screams with pain. "Damn it!" A second later it's blocked out and I lean off the pole to spot the two balls circling above me.

"Ok, ok." I reach up and pull myself back onto the pedestal before taking a breath and getting serious as I keep an eye on the circling balls of death.

_Alright, lets do this!_

I hop off and touch my foot against the flat surface of a higher pedestal to launch myself over and up another two meters. My hand catches the edge of the pedestal passing by and the rough fiber grips I installed into my gloves hold on tight.

_Ok, now pull yourself up..._

I make good use of the parkour moves I've been teaching myself and pull myself up to use the platform as a launch and hop up onto another pedestal, then another, and another in a staggered climb to the second level of the arena.

"Hey, I've been waiting for you to do something besides scratch your ass!"

I perch myself up on one foot and watch as she jumps between platforms randomly to confuse me. I focus on her and spot a pattern in her movements, she's slowly making her way over to the bio-ball dispenser.

_Oh hell no!_

I grit my teeth and jump up in a new move I learned, a spinning kick of my own that throws a warp directly at her feet while I balance on one palm as I flip backwards and thankfully land on a passing platform.

The biotic stunt hits the pedestal true and she stumbles before falling down two levels to desperately grab onto a biotic generator and instantly be thrown back up into the air to land perfectly on a level eight platform twenty feet above me.

"If you're trying to kill me you'll have to fucking do better than that!" Her laugh echoes around me as I just barely make it to the dispenser and grab a ball before it shuts down and moves to another level.

I concentrate on the mechanics inside the ball, manually applying a throw affect to the eezo core inside before chucking it at her.

She ducks and dives out of the way of it whips past and around her in spiraling assaults

I use the distraction to vault off of my own platform and get up a few more levels until I'm watching her from the ninth.

She growls angrily as she misses another opportunity to grab the ball and stomps her foot, blasting an AOE shockwave that tosses the ball off track and into the crowd who shout in surprise as an official catches and hands out the metallic sphere to the nearest on-looker.

"Having trouble Aethyta?" I mock.

She scoffs loudly, "Go fuck yourself kid!" and wipes her sweaty brow with the back of her hand.

"I don't think the entire galaxy needs to see that." I retort, dodging the warp she throws at me and vaulting off another pole to land a level below. "What? Just an observation!"

The timer shifts and all the pedestals change which level they're on once again. The entire place turning thirty degrees clockwise as it does during a one-on-one match.

I stagger from the shift and have to crouch and latch onto the platform to avoid falling.

"Losing your balance?" Aethyta mocks easily.

I look up and barely dive out of the way as a bio-ball destroys the platform I was on.

Son of a bitch!

Tracking my movements I guide my fall and catch myself on level five before swinging off and bouncing onto a biotic generator. I clench my teeth as it grabs my body and launches me up to level ten in less than a second.

"Holy fuck!" I shout as I barely catch myself on the two square inch pedestals sitting there. "Fucking hell she's persistent." I gasp as I try to slow my pounding heart.

I watch as she vaults up level by level until we're both on level ten and she's orbiting five bio-balls around her person.

_Oh... fuuuuuuu_

"Any last words Scorpio?" Aethyta, my mentor, Liara's father sneers at me happily.

I don't have time to respond as I'm once again staggered as the entire place shifts counter clockwise another eighty degrees.

I catch myself this time and take a breath, "Not really, considering I'm not the one going to fall."

I stand up on one foot with my arms spanned out for balance as she watches me curiously.

_Ok, pull the center to the floor, correct for the difference..._

I close my eyes and concentrate my biotics outwards, feeling the arena, the platforms, her residual biotic energy, the maddive crowd, and more importantly the gravity regulators that suspend the levels high into the air.

Calm deep breaths...

I tap into the biotic generators to my enhanced biotics and triple the local gravity, cracking the servos of our pedestals and forcing them to crumbling under our feet. She drops the balls to toss herself onto a passing platform and I do the same to avoid being crushed under the weight of the twisting shards of metal and plastic.

The crowd gasps in surprise and cheers as half the entire arena collapses. I wait for the dust to settle and look down at the twisted piles of metal to groan in agitation that I'll have to pay for that later.

A familiar and rough laugh catches my ears, "Nice going kid!" I look over and see her platform let her off on level twelve, a flat circular platform stuck in the center of the arena's peak. "You've proven my lessons were worth the painkillers."

I cringe as I remember the brutal training she had me go through for the last five years. "Yeah, brutal, but effective. This time I'm on the upper hand Aethyta! Forfeit."

The crowd goes silent as she scowls at me in deep thought.

I span my arms wide cockily, "Or would you rather we kill each-other simply for tradition?"

She smirks at me knowingly and bows, gladly breaking a three thousand year old tradition on the spot. "I humbly forfeit to my student."

The crowd gasps and some of them cry in outrage as I hop onto level twelve with her. We bow to the enraged crowd and laugh as the platform separates and flies over to set us down at the exit.

I look over at her as the door seals behind us in the sound-proof protective chamber. "You know you'll be expelled for that."

She laughs harshly, "Like I give a crap about their traditions! They pulled me out of retirement for a bullshit teaching job! The only reason I even took it was to prove to those conservative jackasses that the Asari aren't the only ones able to master biotics." She laps me on the back. "You're living proof that their assumptions of superiority are complete crap and I'm fine with that." She laughs again as I shake off my blush. "It's been a nice run kid. Hope you live long enough to kick Ardania's ass off of her high-chair!"

We laugh together at the strange bond we made over the five years we've known each other and walk back out to ignore the crowd that's gathered around the parking lots.

She flips off some reporter asking what she was thinking and says, "Does that answer your question?" then she just starts walking off into the crowd as I stand there still surprised I beat her, even by default, in a one-on-one Bio-Ball death-match. "See your sexy ass later Scorpio! I've got to find a bar before I punch someone!" I wave to her as she disappears from my sight with the crowd of reporters hovering far too close for her temper.

_God damn Aethyta, never change, never EVER change._

I sigh contently from the fun tournament and look down at the time to swear as I see it's been two hours.

"LIA GET ME MY DAMN SKYCAR!" I shout as I push past a few bystanders and dash onto the AAH campus.

I look up and my deep obsidian-black skycar lands in front of me as I hop in, "Take me to-"

"Docking bay A14-B, I know." LIA interrupts calmly.

The doors shut immediately and the upgraded accelerator blasts us off, overloading the dampeners momentarily and throwing me into my seat.

_Oh, man I'm going to me late! Not to this! Not to Liara's return!_

I call up my omni-tool and hack open the safety locks on my skycar before punching the accelerator and hitting 600 km/hr before the engine starts grinding from the overheating heat diffusion system I put in.

_Oh god oh god I hope it doesn't vent..._

"LIA!" I gasp as I look up to see colors starting to blur past my vision.

"Oh it." She swerves us around the skyscrapers and flies us over the main airways to grind to a halt so fast the dampeners pop and I nearly hit the windshield.

She lands us at the newly pristine docking bay A14 just as Liara's shuttle starts its docking procedure. LIA cuts off a Volus as we park in his spot and I wave my apology as I run off to get to bay A14-B.

* * *

I dash down the halls only to end up passing the doorway. I quickly dig my heels into the floor and skid to a stop only to jump back around and walk inside as casually as a man can manage without any spare oxygen.

"Oh god." I pant as my vision darkens for a moment while the first passenger exit the commercial shuttle.

_Please don't let my upgraded heart fail me now!_

I look up just as Liara steps off the shuttle in a green lab coat, her gloved fingers wrapped around two cases of samples as she scans the crowd for someone.

I look down at my suit and cringe that I'm still in my graduation armor before pushing through the crowd. "Excuse me, pardon me." I make my way to the front of the crowd of family and scientists and wave to her. She sees me and blinks for a bit in surprise before she smiles and hurries over.

I meet her half way and can't help but smile happily as I look her over. I take in the small nicks and cuts along the sleeves of her lab coat as it hugs her frame comfortably, the sharp lighting of the docking bay highlighting the waver in her step from what I can only assume was a recently twisted ankle. "You look..." I let my smile grow wider as I spot the weary look in her eye as she notices my silent admiration. "Great! Intact I mean. No worse for where I take it?"

She blinks at me shyly before smiling and setting her luggage down for a moment to rest her arms. She flexes her digits to bend away the strain and sighs as her hands pop accordingly with the release. "Oh, it has been a long trip and I will definitely require some rest after these samples are properly analyzed."

I keep my smile as I nod in understanding, "Alright, here let me."

I grab for her luggage and she pushes me back in a panic. I stagger for a bit before regaining my footing to avoid embarrassing myself in public. "No! Stay back!" She shouts as she carefully examines the case for any damaged samples.

The people and APC security officers around us slow down to watch me carefully and I look at each of them accordingly with the same stare to show who I am. Most of them nod to me in understanding, others frown strangely.

I turn back and kneel down to her level to apologize, "Sorry, is anything damaged?"

She shakes her head as she scans the other cases for any irregularities. I recognize a symbol on all of them and smirk confidently, "Although I am qualified to handle biotic integrity locks, you know, due to graduating from the Academy."

Her deep blue eyes jump from her omni-tool to me in surprise for a moment before she shuts down her tool and smiles warmly as she notices my armor for the first time. "Congratulations! I remember when I graduated from the University of Serrice. I hope the service wasn't as... public as mine was."

We stand up and she taps her chin with a slender gloved finger as she continues, "Although the probability of a graduation being a private affair is extremely slim; I still wish they weren't required. Too many people staring at you for too long." She shivers at the thought and picks up her cases once again.

I turn with her towards the main lobbies and guide us towards my skycar. "Huh, I personally think it's just a ploy to gain political power, but what do I know?" I shrug, still smiling contently from her finally being back, "My induction into the Huntress/Hunter program was rather quick, but brutal to say the least. Ardania can make a speech I'll give her that much."

Liara looks at me in slight confusion.

"Oh, nothing important right now." I say to shake off her curiosity momentarily as Benesia's escort steps onto our path.

We both stop and bow respectively to the Matriarch as she shows herself through her guard, Liara only a second behind me in her own Matriarchal greeting. Benesia indicates for us to rise and we do.

"Benesia." I incline my head and smile to her warmly.

She simply smiles back with her eyes before besetting her hard gaze onto her daughter. "Liara, it is good to have you back on Thessia."

Liara swallows nervously, "It is good to be back, Matriarch Benesia. I- I have what I think might provide enough evidence towards supporting my thesis on the Prothean Extinction and I-"

Benesia raises her hand to stop her daughter's nervous ramblings, "I have no doubt that what you do in your free time will prove... useful to your career choice."

I cringe at the double-edged tone to her voice and watch sadly as I see how depressing it is to Liara's mood, so I add, "No doubt Liara will find what she needs and finally gain recognition for her brilliant work."

The two of them stare at me in surprise for a moment before Benesia realizes her original error, "Of course Protector." She bows respectfully to my position as the informal and formal left hand of Ardania while Liara raises a tattooed eyebrow in confusion before doing so as well hesitantly. Benesia genuinely smiles to me as she bends back up with her guard, "Now I must depart, Liara your room at the estate is still yours to clam when you wish."

Liara looks at her mother for a second to say, "Thank you." before looking back to me with a calculated confusion brimming in her wondrous eyes.

"Have a safe journey Benesia, I hope you do well." I say customarily to the Matriarch before she and her guard shuffle back into the crowds and move off towards her own private shuttle parked down the lane.

_Well that was interesting._

"What was that about? What did she call you?" Liara asks curiously while we step further down the hall. My jet-black skycar glistening in the distance.

"Protector. The full title is 'Protector of Thessia' but most people just call me the 'Protector' or just 'Defender'. Why?" I answer nonchalantly, forgetting her absence from the local system over the last five years.

She's silent for a moment so I look over to see her gawking at me in shock, "Y-You? I heard that I Human bested an army of mechs and Eclipse, but I did not expect it to be you! How?" She breathes in disbelief.

I laugh at her surprise before simply smiling as I say, "Another time Liara, after you're settled in and I find out what my new responsibilities are as a hunter."

_Hopefully Ardania won't ask anything more of me. Having to attend all her meetings for political bargaining is more than enough to drive someone insane._

She smiles warmly to me, "I'll hold you to that."

We enter my skycar and sit back in companionable silence as she stares out at the newly rebuilt capital of Thessia, everything gleaming in the warm sunlight with an air of perfection that nearly makes me gag. I ignore it and keep my eyes on Liara, her inquisitive eyes watching everything and anything coming into her vision with such clarity that I can't help but smile at how different she's become.

_She's grown so much._

She looks over and catches me staring as we take off, "Oh, is there something on my face?" She goes to wipe away invisible dirt and I smile at her innocence.

"You got it, now where did you want to go? I assume to the estate to drop off your samples?" I ask while hiding my blush unsuccessfully.

She nods with a contented sigh I know well. "Yes, I suppose so."

"The work is never done, always one more thing to do." I respond and she nods in complete understanding._  
_

I look at her as LIA plots the appropriate course. She turns to stare at a recently rebuilt tower of... Eline I believe. Some up and coming diplomat from Illium vying for better trade agreements with Thessia, but once again I'm drawn to the sight of Liara. The mid-afternoon sunlight reflects across her vibrant skin to create hues I haven't admired in so long. Something strange happens and I feel my chest tightening. I look away and take a deep breath as I'm reminded of how much I sacrificed to get here. How many lives I took to make sure she'd see her homeworld again. I shake my head, content to just sit in the silence of the moment, rather than have another breakdown.

_Goddess it's good to have her back._

The skycar dips down, drawing our attention as it slows to a stop. We land just outside Benezia's estate, her head commandos surrounding the shuttle as I step out and let the captain walk up to me, "State your business." She orders.

I cross my arms, forcing the light to reflect off the Lights of Athame I had around my neck for the graduation ceremony and she immediately waves her forces off as she sees it and recognizes the owner.

She bows respectfully in turn with her lieutenants, "Welcome to Matriarch Benesia's estate Protector, I wish I had known of your arrival, we are always eager to give the Left Hand a proper welcome."

I wave her off as Liara secures her samples and follows us to the gate. "No, I'd prefer no introduction at all, after all I am the Left Hand. My station requires a bit of... subtlety you understand."

She turns her head around to look at my shuttle as it takes off again and silently disappears into the growing night sky by itself, "Um... right. I hate to ask this but how long _are_ you staying? You'll need clearance to get past the AA cannons."

I raise an eyebrow at her as to say, 'And why would I do that?'

She stares back with, 'Because you'll die you jackass.'

I give her an annoyed look and she relents, nodding to me while breaking her strides to march back to her station.

_She knows her position._

I shake my head at her and sigh as I try to relax a small bit from the agitating encounter.

"You have a great deal of respect Scorpio."

I look over at Liara and smile at her calm but curious expression. "I- Yes, I guess I do." I stare ahead at the path with malcontent as I remember WHY I'm respected.

_I never asked to be involved in any of this, I never asked to be a hero, never to be Thessia's last hope, and DEFINITELY didn't ask to be Ardania's Left Hand! I swore to keep people safe, but not to kill those trying to harm others. Damn you Ardania!_

I clench my fists carefully to stop my frustration from activating my biotics.

"Are you- Are you alright Scorpio?" She asks hesitantly, breaking my chain of thought.

I blink away my rage and look over to flash a forced smile at Liara, "Yeah, just fine." I look up and find we're already at the main door to the mansion, "Well, here we are."

She and I stop and I can tell she's fighting to say something by the way she's avoiding my eyes, "I-" She gnaws at her bottom lip uncomfortably as I wait patiently.

_She's innocent, so awkward, antisocial... hmph, reminds me of myself somewhat._

_... _

_Didn't I say that like, five years ago?_

It takes her a good three minutes of blushing, avoiding eye contact, and cursing herself silently before she takes a deep breath and looks me in the eye to say rapidly, "Do you mind if you come see my room with me?"

I blink at her in slight surprise before smiling comfortingly, "Sure, if you're alright with it."

"No, I mean yes!" She grinds her teeth nervously, "I think we should get to know each other, maybe spend some time alone and-" She shakes her head, "Oh that didn't sound right..." She silently regresses a bit back into herself.

I stop her rapid retreat by opening the front door with a wave of my omni-tool and taking one of her cases with me inside, "Come on, lead the way."

She stares at me before blushing as she quickly walks past me trying to hide her embarrassment.

* * *

Her room turns out to be an entire apartment complex equipped to house not one, not two, but eight people simultaneously. With multiple bathing areas, kitchens, and entertainment studios built into each branch. "Holy shi-ite." I say as I enter her own branch and am immediately bombarded by dozens of piles of samples and equipment stacked where they could be and covering nearly everything with the low rumble of microservos. I take a step inside and trip on a power cable only to catch myself on a dark green metallic rock with inscriptions of some kind on it.

"No!" I turn around and she pushes me away to inspects the rock thoroughly before sighing and turning to scold me, "Don't touch anything!"

I frown at her and look around myself to find I was standing in the only place without dozens of possibly hazardous or breakable pieces of... something. "I do believe that statement is akin to me not being in this room Liara, there's cra-fts made by the Protheans all over the place!"

She winces at my tone and I sigh as she finally takes in everything with wide eyes, "Um... I borrowed a lot of things from the university." She mutters quietly as she look over her buried suite.

I shake my head, "Yes," I push a broken terminal aside to find a pile of data disks and an old coffee mug. "Yes you did." I show her the cracked mug and she blushes at her lack of cleanliness.

"I swear I clean!" She throws up her arms, "I just haven't had the time! I mean there are so many pieces of data and evidence, artifacts, elemental traces-"

"Liara, I-"

"Thousands of microbial samples! Oh I could probably go on for days about the microbial samples!"

I blink at the... thing I found again as it continues to glow brightly, "Liara there's-"

"And what about the documents! I'm going to have to find those first, I'll need them to properly catalogu-"

"LIARA!" She freezes and looks over at me and I incline my head to the glowing... thing peeking out from under her queen-sized bed. "What's that?"

She quickly navigates her maze of lab equipment and samples to nearly tumble into me as she trips over the power cord from before, "Sorry." She looks over and gasps before leaning down and reaching out to try and grab the device, "Oh, come on, come on." She groans as she barely touches it with the tip of her index finger when it glows blue and flies out from under the bed and into my hand. She looks at me and blushes at her own lack of finesse.

I look over the small shard of metal curiously as it glows a subtle green, "This is Prothean?"

She nods as she dusts herself off and plucks away the cobwebs the maids left for her to deal with.

"Hmm..." I stare at the strange object a moment longer when I feel something pressing against my consciousness, something sharp and filled with darkness, it cut into my walls, cracking the foundation like it was nothing and drop it in shock at the mental assault.

She gasps and dives over the broken terminal to catch the shard before it can bounce against the tile floor.

I back away panting at the shock of feeling such a strong presence touching my barriers, "What in the fu-rack is that?!" I screech in dismay.

She scowls at me before placing the shard in a containment case it must have fallen out of and sealing it. "Nothing, just- just something I thought I sent back to the University before I left."

I fight back the urge to shudder as the memory of... whatever that was starts shaking my mental barriers even more. "Whatever it is it's powerful and-"

completely similar to a Memory Shard.

"and just keep it away from me." I shake my head as it pounds again from the intrusion.

She frowns at me as she stacks the case on top of the terminal and starts collecting her data disks, "Uh... alright? It has been contained, you have nothing to worry about."

I gulp as I shake off my discomfort before finding the presence hasn't left, just weakened a bit, "You're sure?"

She frowns at me, "Of course I am. The device has a maximum yield of beta-7 and that case is meant to protect against beta-9 contamination."

"What is it?" I ask as I stare at the case wearily.

"It-" She closes her mouth and shakes her head, "I'm unable to answer that question, I actually was studying it to find out exactly that. Well, before I was accepted into the dig that is." She picks up another data disk curiously, "I wonder why the University didn't come to claim any of this?"

I take a deep breath and gladly change the subject, "Well, after the invasion most of the local records were either corrupted or unusable. I heard that the University of Serrice lost many of their artifacts to looters."

Liara's eyes immediately darken with concern, "Then... I might have the entirety of what survived in my room."

I look around and nod in agreement at that assessment, "I wouldn't be surprised, the amount of artifacts already here is staggering."

She blushes, "Yes, I believe I have inadvertently protected the entirety of the Prothean department by hording their artifacts."

I laugh painfully, "At least one of us did something right during the occupation..."

Her concerned gaze follows me as I place a hand on the case containing the shard and sigh shakily at the intense energy still coming off of it. She watches me as I silently mourn my people, her people, every lost soul from the invasion, my induction, Ardania's orders of execution she hands out weekly...

"Scorpio, I-" She's cut off as my omni-tool has a new message.

I open it up, "Scorpio, Ardania requests your presence immediately at the Atrium." LIA announces plainly, oblivious to the intensity of the situation.

I sigh as I turn off my omni-tool and ready myself for another mission, "Well, I've got to get moving, duty calls and all that." I don't look at her concerned and confused expression as I step out of her branch of the mansion, making for the front door as quickly as possible.

I almost get to it when-

"Scorpio!" Liara rushes down the stairs and I turn to be thrown against the door by her intense hug.

I blink at her shocking display of familiarity before she mutters, "Be careful."

I pat her on the back carefully and smile tiredly at her while pulling away, "I always am Li."

She nervously folds her hands behind her as she watches me go, chewing her lip with an emotion I can't place.

* * *

_There's always something to do._

I nod to the Captain as my skycar pulls away and she scrambles to deactivate the field as I take off for the Atrium, the Political Capital of the Asari Republics, and the main office of High Priestess Ardania.

* * *

A/N And there we go :)

Tell me how I did! I'm eager to see if I've still got the tone right.

For those of you interested, I also updated Drifter's Journey: Dragon Age if you've been waiting for it. ;)

FYI This is set in the late months of 2176, essentially six years and some change before Edan Prime and ME1.


	23. The Unora's Decent

A/N Welcome back everyone! Yet again I'm caught up in my college work. I'm still pushing to write more chapters so don't worry.

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

* * *

The inky hollowness of space wraps itself around the hull of a ship touched by darkness. Rescue ships now long gone and the crew's bodies taken back to civilized space for inspection by the organics that created them. Light purple eyes bore into the ship from behind half an inch of pressurized and refined silicate, "There it is," The captain states with more apprehension than intended. She turns back to look at her eight crew members, "right where the Eclipse left it." She smiles through her nervousness at being this close to Alliance space and sees nothing but apprehension in her crew's body language.

"What should we do captain?" Her left hand states from behind his white mask, Erian's bright yellow armor creating a sharp contrast to his usually cool mood.

Her crew mostly agreed to answer the anonymous message they'd caught during FTL out here, but she was still nervous around wrecks so close to the Batarian-Alliance border.

She smirks over at him, "We salvage the bird, no need to let it rust in pieces." She chuckles at her own joke and turns to stare out at the Asarian frigate again, "After-all who's coming back for it? Those rescue ships weren't too keen on keeping it hidden."

"Well, to them it's useless without the engines intact." Her right hand states from behind his deep black mask.

She rolls her eyes, "It was rhetorical Hans. Now plot a course to the nearest intact airlock. Lets see what we're working with."

"Right away ma'am."

The two hundred year old Quarian frigate shifts its position in the emptiness of space and slowly drifts towards an airlock near the cargo bay of the small frigate, dodging the debris from its destroyed engines as it does.

"_Ten seconds to contact."_

Captain Meeriva locks her armor onto her suit as she readies herself for vacuum exposure. She turns to address the boarding party of six, two engineers: Pormil and Kera, two marines: Toric and Marika, their (just recently acquired) master technician Falon Vas Nara, barely twenty and the least experienced of them all, and lastly herself, the leader of the fine Quarian scout ship: The Unora. "Alright, be ready for anything. Just because those Asari didn't have any problems doesn't mean we won't." Her crew nod in agreement as the airlock cycles on and they're thrown into the second most dangerous environment Quarians fear everyday on the Flotilla.

Everyone's helmet lights activate automatically as they step into the completely pitch-black cargo bay.

Toric and Marika storm ahead, arming their modified Avenger rifles around corners and checking every possible danger while the rest of the boarding party stood back, fearful of another slaver ambush like last time.

"Clear!"

Meeriva breaths a sigh of relief, she'd lost enough of her crew this month. "Ok" she brings up the rough blueprint Hans drew up from his scans of the frigate and sends it to everyone, "Toric, you and Kera check the crew quarters. Pormil, you and Marika find the bridge and check things out there. I want to know how many systems are still operational, and try to get life support back up, we only have an hour of air at most." The four of them salute in their own way and scamper off to do their duty to their people as Meeriva looks at Falon whose trying to scan a bloodstain near the only crate in the entire cargo bay.

_Damn, looks like they already cleared it out, some salvage would do nicely. The hull can't take another direct hit. Hmm... maybe we could "borrow" the LSS coolant module to upgrade our own. The ancestors know some fresh air conditioning would do everyone some good._

"What have you got Falon?" She asks as she steps up to the two cubic meter crate.

He jumps and whips around to sigh in relief at seeing it was her, "Keelah, you scared me. I hate being in this coffin." He shakes his head clear and brings up the scans he took, "It looks like this crate is filled with refined Platinum and Iridium Meeriva." He freezes, "I-I mean Ma'am."

She stops his freak out, "That's fine Falon, no need for formalities as of yet, you're new, you'll get used to it. That's a good find, we'll bring it over once Life Support is operational. The Ancestors have been kind to leave this behind."

He nods and silently turns back to continue scanning the crate and blood.

_Why would they leave a crate of valuable resources like that?_

Meeriva turns away and calls up her private comm to her squad as she stares at the bloodstain next to it, "Be on your guard everyone, there's something not right here. Contact me immediately if you find anything at all."

Toric was skittish, waving his rifle around at the slightest creak of the dead ship as he and Kera searched the crew deck. A loud bang resounds behind him and he whips around to stare into the darkness in fear as his adrenaline spikes. Nothing attacks him, nothing clenches onto his leg and pulls him through one of the holes in the hull to be eaten whole. No amalgamations of reanimated flesh slice him in half from his stupidity of standing out in the open. "It's just... space wind." He says while his mind continues searching the darkness for fictional monsters.

Something grabs his shoulder and he shouts as he whips his gun around and bashes the monster on the head.

"Aw!" It shouts as it hits the ground.

He squeezes the trigger and fires into the ground where it used to be.

Turning around and around he panics that he can't find it before he gasps as it's claws bash him to the ground. He tries to struggle with it as it tosses his gun away and moves in for the kill.

"Stop moving you fucking Bosh'tet!"

He freezes and opens his eyes to see a very very VERY pissed off Kera growling down at him. "Wha-?"

She punches the side of his helmet, "What were you thinking?!"

He winces as his brains rattle in his skull.

_What WAS he thinking?_

He just sits there, staring up at her in surprise, "I- I thought-" He shakes his head, "Keelah, what just happened?"

Kera rolls her eyes as Toric starts rocking back and forth in panic at almost killing her, "Snap out of it Bosh'tet!" He looks up at her. "You NEED to stop playing that game! It's messing with your head man." She holds out a three fingered gloved hand to him.

He gulps and accepts her help, "Alright, yeah I'll stop. Keelah are you sure you're alright? I'm so sorry."

She laughs at his worry, "I have a kinetic shield Toric, get your brains up off the floor, I'm fine. Just a bit bruised."

"Oh, ok." He looks at his feet and swears silently that he'll never play _Dark Spaces_ ever again before night-cycle.

She rolls her eyes again, "Anyways, I found an audio journal while you were freaking out." She waves the small data disk around and he blushes behind his mask.

Toric reaches down and grabs his rifle from where it landed and holsters it. "Lets hear it."

She pops it into her omni-tool and it starts playing.

"_We- **static** -out here! She thought it was a myth! We a- **static** -did. Ok god wha- **static** -ve we done? What have- **static** -eleased?"_

I shiver shoots up both of their spines, "That doesn't sound good." They say together.

Kera gulps and brings up the comm, "Meeriva, Kera here: we found an audio log in the crew quarters, it was locked in a safe, everything else was wiped clean."

"_Well, what did it say?"_

Kera looks at Toric and he stares at her in fright, "Something went wrong and it sounded like the crew... released something."

"_Something? What was it?"_

She shakes her head, "We don't know, the log was pretty short."

"_Well... shit. We've got to hurry up then. Toric, you and Kera go to the bridge, Pormil?" _

The comms add in Pormil.

"_Yeah?"_

"_You and Marika get to Life Support and kick it on, Falon and I'll get to Engineering and see if the reactor is operational. I don't like this."_

"_Got it."_ Pomil responds.

"Understood." Toric echoes.

"_Good, stay in radio contact."_ Meeriva ends the transmission.

Kera looks at Toric and he shakes his head, "I think this was a-"

"Don't say it Bosh'tet!" Kera warns.

He blinks at her, "good crew, and they died for no good reason. What did you think I was going to say?"

She rolls her eyes, "Just get moving."

(ten minutes later)

Empty halls where air is scarce, droplets of water and coolant fluid floating around in the lack of local gravity. Pormil hated to see resources go to waste. Her mag boots clank as they slowly approach the source of the leak, a temperature regulator for Life Support. She immediately flashes her omni-tool over the crack in the line and seals it off. Resources for the Flotilla always revolved around salvage operations like these and every drop that leaked meant another second of uncertainty for her people's future; her people knew this simple fact.

"Really? Why did you waste the materials repairing that thing?"

_Well_, She mused, _most of her people._

She shakes her head at the gar-head escorting her through the ship, "I'm not explaining the importance of coolants to you Marika."

Marika shrugs, "Whatever, you want to waste precious resources and doom the Flotilla go ahead, but this is going in my report." She turns and walks out of Life Support.

Pormil just stares at her as she leaves, "Bosh'tet." She turns around and continues re-wiring the main circuit boards responsible for the coolant intake valve. Even with all the leaks in the line and half of the system drifting in the emptiness of space, she was still able to get a stable seal, the benefits of being a Quarian engineer never cease in a vacuum.

"Bleep bleep."

She smiles and turns to see her drone had returned from sealing off the other leaks near the engine room. "Good Orisha, now lets see if we can reactivate the EPS." (Emergency Power System)

The small yellow orb spins in something akin to delight and zooms off towards the nearest control panel.

Pormil laughs at its eagerness.

_If only Marika had such enthusiasm __for__ technology._

* * *

Meeriva and Falon open up the reactor doors to freeze in shock as they catch a clear shot of the blue and light-green planet they orbited above.

"Keelah..." Falon breaths.

Meeriva shakes her head in equal shock, "Ancestors... what happened here?"

Falon swallows and runs his omni-tool across the scorched and melted hull near the open hole, "It seems the reactor went critical and detonated, there's eezo fused into the metal here here and here. "He points at the shards of metal impaled into the walls of the reactor still slowly floating away from the ship.

Meeriva shakes her head slowly, if there wasn't a reactor AND engines then the ship was worthless, a skeleton, a permanent wreck by even Quarian standards. She punches the wall near her, "Damn it! I thought this was a promising find!" She risked drifting so far from the flotilla, risked the lives of her crew, her ship, and the security of the Flotilla... for a _derelict_ filled with _one_ crate of resources.

"Interesting..." Falon mutters as Meeriva looks up to find Falon was standing on one of the floating walls drifting away.

"Falon!" She shouts in surprise.

He looks up at her and waves for her to come over, "I found something!"

She nervously shuffles her mag-boots left and right, she HATED free-floating in space, but if they found something useful... She takes a breath and pushes off towards Falon's wall, panic beating rapidly in her veins as she flailed towards him rapidly. "Keeeeeeeelaaaah!"

Falon grabs onto her and her mag-boots easily latch onto the wall, "Meer- Captain?"

She opens her eyes and sees she had latched onto Falon in her fright. She immediately lets go and backs up a bit, "Sorry, I-"

He shrugs nervously, "N-no problem." He shows her his omni-tool and she frowns at the readings in confusion.

"Uh..."

Falon smiles, he always loved knowing everything about technology, "The reactor wasn't active during the explosion due to the amount of eezo still present in trace amounts here. Someone must have salvaged it after the ship went dark."

Meeriva's light purple eyes brighten up instantly. If the reactor was stolen and not destroyed then they could repair the core! It wasn't a wreck!

"Wait..." She frowns, "If it was stolen then why is there so much eezo in the surviving metalwork?"

Falon frowns from behind his mask, "I... I don't know. There's evidence of a huge exposure to dark energy there so I just assumed it was the reactor, but now I know it wasn't." He types on his tool some more, "Hmm... I got the same readings near the cargo bay, dark energy was present in the bloodstain, which doesn't make sense."

Meeriva raises an eyebrow, "Well... if it was an Asari ship then it's Asari blood, which has dark energy in it right?"

Falon tilts his head in curiosity, "Normally that dissipates once the individual blood-cells die, but it wasn't Asari blood, it was Turian."

Meeriva frowns, "Wait... Turian? What would a Turian be doing on an Asarian Frigate?"

Falon and Meeriva look out and ponder at the ship full of mysteries, their reactor wall still slowly floating further away with every second that passes.

* * *

"Kera why can't I just wait in the back?" Toric whines as he backs away from the dozens of blood-splatters spread out all over the bridge.

Kera rolls her eyes for the third time today, "Seriously? You're scared of _blood_ now?" She shakes her head and fearlessly walks through the floating bubbles of blood and up to the main controls for the ship. She huffs in annoyance that it to was covered in blood too before taking a floating piece of fabric and wiping it down to reveal the inactive touch screen below. "Are you serious? They used touch-tech?" She scoffs, "How primitive. At least we know it wasn't a military ship." She taps the display and is surprised that it still has power, scrolling through the system diagnostic it shows the engines were offline, so was half the other systems in the ship, but the EPS was already on, and at full charge. "Huh, looks like those rescue ships DID think about coming back for salvage. Bosh'tets aren't going to get this beauty, not if I have anything to say about it." She taps the EPS into the main power grid and everything goes back online. "Yes!" Kera turns to be congratulated by Toric and sees he's no-where to be found. "Toric?" She asks worriedly, taking her shotgun out just in case.

"_Whispers in the shadows make us beg, make us give, make us touch..." _She whips around to find an audio log had activated. _"I don't want to do it, I don't want it, I don't want to go-" _

A squelching sound reaches Kera's audio receptors and she winces as it sounds like someone just lost their head, literally, "Keelah..." the log dies and she shakes her head, "What happened here?"

"_What happened here?" _

Her spine shivers in fear from the voice right behind her. She whips around and points her shotgun at the vacuum, nothing is there. "What?" She asks as she re-gains her nerves and slowly steps out of the cockpit.

"_Why does it happen?"_

She turns towards the voice and sees a corner where the lights hadn't activated. A corner draped in complete darkness. "Wha- what? Who's there!" She threatens.

"_I smell your fear Kera Vas Unora Vas Ileria Nar Mori__u__m, I taste your guilt, I feel your bones shaking..."_

Her breathing picks up as her heart pounds in her ears. She takes a step forward and the lights flash on. Nothing is there.

"Ah!"

She turns towards the exit to the bridge and sees Marika rushing inside and slamming the door shut, the display flashes red, it locked.

"Marika? What in the Ancestors-?" She's cut off as a loud bang hits the door.

"S-something..." Marika falls to her knees, out of breath.

Kera rushes to her side and helps her up.

"Something chased me through the fucking ship!" She yells in anger.

Kera frowns in confusion, "What was it?"

"I don't fucking know! I just heard it behind me and fucking ran! Keelah it's massive!"

The bulkhead creaks and the something bangs twice on the door.

Their comm sparks to life, _"What's happening up there?! I can hear that banging from engineering!"_ Meeriva shouts as it sounds like she's running somewhere.

Marika opens up comms, "Something fucking chased me to the bridge!"

…

"_Marika? Where's Pormil? Is she with you?" _

She shakes her head, "No she's still at Life Support with that damn drone of hers!"

"_MARIKA! ANCESTORS DAMN YOU! I TOLD YOU TO KEEP HER SAFE!" _

Marika instantly winces at her failure, "I-"

"_I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! Kera?"_

"Y-yeah?" Kera responds.

"_Is Toric with you?"_

…

"_Kera?_ _Oh Keelah don't tell me he wandered off again."_

Kera rubs her wrists with uncertainty, "I don't know, I turned around after taping into the EPS and he was gone!"

BANG! "Come on open!" BANG BANG BANG

Kera and Marika look at each other and back to the door in fright.

"Well then move Toric, it's a sealed bulkhead you moron, you can't just bash it in with your helmet. Keelah you're worse than Marika."

"Bleep Bleep"

"See? Even Orisha agrees." The panel flashes green as the door opens up and Toric and Pormil step inside with Pormil's yellow repair drone not far behind.

Kera and Marika just stare at them in surprise.

"_What's happening? Was that Toric?" _

Kera snaps out of her shock and brings the comm back up, "Uh... yeah, he and Pormil just entered the bridge."

"_Get them on the comm."_

Kera looks at Promil and she shakes her head before bringing up her omni-tool to tap into the comm, "I got electrocuted re-wiring the LSS and my comm hasn't worked since, my apologies Meeriva, but I got the LSS working once the EPS was flipped on. I went to tell Marika-" She glares at the Marine. "-and realized she'd wandered off so I tracked her to the bridge to find Toric banging his head against the door in frustration." She glares at Marika, "Where the hell were you?"

Marika scowls behind her mask, "Where was I? I was being chased!"

Pormil crosses her arms, "Oh really, by what Marika? We're inside a derelict ship floating in space."

Marika narrows her eyes, "How should I know?! I was just running from what sounded like a monster growling in my ear!"

"_ENOUGH!"_ Meeriva ends their prattling. _"We are on a salvage operation here! If you want to argue and freak out from random sounds and run off, Marika and Toric, then get the hell off the ship!" _

Toric reels back, "What? I didn't run off!"

Kera frowns in confusion, "Then what were you doing?"

He shrugs, "Wandering a bit, I got bored."

Kera, Marika, Meeriva and Pormil all face-mask themselves.

Falon clears his throat over the comms, _"Well, we found the reactor room blown apart, but not from the reactor detonating, and there's traces of dark energy exposure all over the ship. It's almost like the entire place fell into a black-hole's orbit and escaped with their engines wrecked from exposure."_ He deduces.

Kera and Pormil nod in an _ah-ha_ moment while the two marines shrug with indifference.

"_Well... are there any black__-__holes near this __sector__ of space?"_ Meeriva asks.

Falon silently nods his head as he sound like he's tapping his omni-tool, _"Yes, a small one is located a few ly away, but why someone would want to go all the way out there I have no idea." _

Meeriva taps her mouth piece as she slows to a walking pace with Falon just behind her. _"If they were trying to get out there, it must have been for a good reason. Kera tap into their navigation system and get those coordinates. Lets go check it out." _

Falon coughs to get their attention, _"I'll have to alter those coordinates a bit so we don't hit the accretion disk like these poor souls must have." _

Pormil claps her hands together while Orisha flips around in something close to happiness, "Great! I'll go set up a recovery beacon so the Flotilla can come to lay claim to this derelict."

Meeriva adds, _"Good, get that crate of materials from cargo on the way, Toric and Marika can help you out. __L__ets see if there's anything of value out there __people.__" _

Everyone nods in agreement and heads off to do their respectable jobs, now a bit more informed about what happened to this ship and even more eager to solve the mystery behind it.

Meeriva ends the comm with a smile under her mask, "Maybe this wasn't a waste of time after-all."

Falon lets her pass by him and smiles as he gets another great view of her ass. "Yep."

She turns to look at him and his eyes shoot up to meet hers as he blushes. She rolls her eyes at the young Quarian before continuing her step and pretending to not notice his staring.

_Men._

* * *

(Back on Thessia)

I take in a deep breath and focus myself before stepping out of the elevator.

"Have a nice day!"

I fight my scowl as I nod to the receptionist and wait for the duel doors to shut before shaking my head in frustration.

_God damn it! What does she think I do?! I'm NOT doing that!_

I take a few steps down and sit on the staircase in front of the Atrium, angry at how my meeting with Ardania went.

* * *

"-secure peace for Thessia by being my Left Hand Scorpio." She wraps an arm around my shoulders, "Together we can establish a new order of things and save Thessia from another invasion, whenever that may happen."

I walk out of her embrace stiffly and shake my head, "I need to choose my own path, I hope you understand. My answer is no." I move to leave.

She grabs my shoulders and spins me around, fury in her normally charming and sharply intelligent eyes, "You have to see what I see Scorpio, a world falling to it's own chaos, the darkness is following everyone, you must have felt this!"

"Get off of me!" I push her away and brush myself off, "I don't know what you want, but it can't be good for Thessia. My answer is no your _Highness_." I turn away and leave her office, rushing towards the elevator as fast as I can without looking too eager to leave.

* * *

I scoff, "Fuck your 'good for Thessia' I can find work somewhere else."

_I could work as a private guard or something. God that sounds boring. Maybe I could enlist in the Asari Militia? No that'll still mean I'd be working for Ardania, just getting her orders from a different set of lips and choosing even less for myself. I can't go off-world because of Rila. God damn it, and now that Evron Industries is self-sustainable and expanding to the Citadel thanks to Mein and Seila I don't need to help out! Argh!_

I sigh and look behind me and back at the Atrium, unfortunately realizing my only option at this point was to stay close to government if I had any chance to change things for the better. "Son of a bitch." I pat myself down and shift my armor plates back into their proper positions. "Have to look presentable when you sell yourself to the devil after-all." I mutter incoherently. I walk inside and the Receptionist stops me, "Hold on citizen, only those with an appointment can enter."

I blink at her, "I just saw Ardania, you said 'have a nice day' to me as I left?"

She frowns, "You left, therefore your appointment with _High Priestess_ Ardania had ended. Now I have to ask that you leave." Her voice is filled with contempt.

I growl in the back of my throat and say, "Fine!" while stepping back through the duel swooping doors. "Great, now what am I going to do?"

A Salarian walks past me and I take the chance, cloaking to get past the receptionist. I step into another employee's shadow as they go into their elevator and stand behind them uncloaked in silence to avoid being detected, or wasting my hardware.

"Goddess my ass hurts, I'll have to get another cushion from the lounge."

I have to hold my breath to keep myself from snickering as the doors open and she leaves, but I stay and hit the top floor. "Access restric-" I slam my Omni-tool into the panel and LIA instantly hacks through the weak firewalls. "Access... approved."

_Good god, she'd better still be handing out jobs or I'm going to be arrested for breaking into a government building... which is punishable by exile._

A few moments later I cloak as the doors open and I sneak past two very confused guards and into the emergency duct system. LIA taps into their feeds and alters it to loop as I reach the vent cover and enter Ardania's office as she walks into an adjoining room.

_Damn, that was WAY too easy, no wonder she's looking for an all-purpose spy master. She'd be screwed if I was an assassin. _

I follow her inside quickly, taking my Scorpion dagger out before grabbing her by the wrists and holding them bioticly in place. Taking my dagger, I press it against her throat and whisper, "I make my own rules, my own assumptions, I have free-reign in my private business, and you NEVER hurt anyone I know, am I clear?" I demand in a shocking (more to myself rather than to her) display of authority.

To her credit, the only thing that identifies that she's terrified is her body going ridged. "I thought you'd return." She states calmly.

I smile at her bravery, "Yes, and I wish to negotiate for my new position."

I feel her frown, "I don't negotiate with terrorists."

"I'm not a terrorist." I state plainly.

"When did that happen? Before or after you blew up that Blue-Suns depot in 2171?" She retorts.

I barely react to her knowledge with the tightening of my hand on my dagger before responding, "That was accidental, as you well know. I did not create the Invasion. One action did not break the bank."

"What?" She's confused.

"It's a human saying, my actions alone did not start the war." I take a short breath, "I reiterate my earlier statement, this is not a negotiation, it's extortion."

She scoffs carefully to avoid piercing the skin, "You're pathetic you know that? Hiding behind a dagger, never willing to look someone in the eye as you kill them."

"I'm no murderer." I say a bit too quickly.

She picks it up, "And yet you don't even remember your past do you? I've tracked your progress for a long time now Scorpio, or should I say, Dylan."

My grip tightens even more, "What do you know Ardania?" I demand.

"More than you do, apparently, you wouldn't call yourself innocent otherwise."

My eyes harden, "I've never called myself innocent." I lower my head a bit, "I know what morality is though, seeing death first-hand gave me that opportunity."

She smiles, "You know what death is? You see it constantly, yet don't fall to it. You stay strong and never break from the path of greatness, but what do YOU know about _morality_?" She bites out the word like it's a curse; even so, her voice is beyond charming.

I look at the back of her head and try to get her meaning, "What do you mean?" I finally ask.

"You are a Protector of Thessia Scorpio, you know what helps and harms Thessia, and you do what you think is best to protect the people, but what about the Galaxy? What do you know about the bigger picture? What do you think could change the Galaxy?"

I answer every question immediately in one word, "Chaos."

I feel her grin, "Exactly, your morality is simply what you see, personally, as what chaos can exist as. I am here to make order. I make the choices to subvert chaos and bring Thessia into another millennium of peace. I have seen you commit atrocities over the years in the name of Thessia. You are not clean by any means. You've said it yourself, you have never been innocent."

_Not here anyways..._

I stay silent for a while. Just thinking about her words. A moment later, and after listening to her breath against my blade for a bit, I finally shake my head and whisper, "Who are you Ardania?"

She responds in kind with a whisper, "I am a guide to every soul on Thessia."

I frown at her words, "And who am I then? I am not your _lackey_." I bite out the word in my own curse.

She turns her head to try and look at me, "You are my hand Scorpio, an extension of my power to stem the tide of chaos." She turns back to face the front, "You have many choices now, I've spent too many times trying to stop change, trying to keep everything from what I thought was chaos." She stops a moment, "Too long trying to stop your progress, I sent the order out to keep the commandos from protecting the people during the Invasion you know, now I wish I hadn't."

I blink at her as my own empathy starts creeping up on me.

"But I had to stay strong, I called the Citadel and warned the Destiny Ascension about the attack. I now know my warning came too late and the FTL comm links were destroyed before it was sent." Her voice is so full of regret and pain I feel compelled to feel for her, even though I definitely should not.

...

"All I wished to do was to help during the Invasion, I never thought about my employee's safety. As far as I knew they signed off their lives when they joined the company, but when the first of them died... I almost lost it. Rila helped me stay stable when I was overwhelmed by the chaos. I don't know why she helped me, I'd done too much to die right then and there, but if I was going out, I was going to end the invasion first." I let myself open up for the first time to anyone.

_Rila herself hasn't even heard of what I went through before the Invasion. Why am I telling this to anyone? Especially Ardania? Especially now?_

"I nearly died on multiple occasions and even at one point I thought I DID die, until I woke up,"

She shifts a bit away from my blade, snapping me back to the present, "but when I did I saw a world burning and my life ending. I stopped thinking about myself and fought to end the invasion, and you know what Ardania?" I pause, "It made perfect sense. Sure I've had to kill some bad people, but I enjoy what I do, I live and breath darkness constantly and now I ask you one question..."

She shifts uncomfortably as her wrists clearly start to hurt.

"Will you allow me to exert my will over Thessia in your name?"

…

_She's thinking. That's good... I think._

…

And after two minutes she sighs, "You will be my Left Hand,"

I pull my dagger away and sheath it expertly as she turns to wring her sore wrists and look at me in slight surprise as I bow to her, "Then I am yours Ardania."

She does the same, and speaks up as we finish the show of respect, "but I will not condone disrespect to my position. You are a Protector of Thessia, I am Thessia's ruler, you protect me primarily."

I shake her hand reluctantly, "Agreed." I look down at myself and groan, "Now I must change out of this god-awful graduation armor. I can't do my job if I look like a Bio-Ball athlete."

She laughs an extremely pleasing laugh and waves a hand for me to go, "Be back here tomorrow morning and we can speak about building up my fortifications and certain reforms of Thessian politics."

I nod to her and leave out the front door.

The guards instantly whip around and aim their rifles and biotics at me in shock. "Let him go." Ardania orders and they slowly lower their weapons, now a bit embarrassed they didn't see me enter twenty minutes ago.

* * *

_Cars that fly, in the sky, skycars, that's what they are called. Skycars flying in the sky, who came up with this shit? _

Rila's knocked out of her thoughts as she hears her radio go off. She frowns as she instantly translates the code to a domestic dispute and lets it go as another patrol calls in for it. She leans against the railing near her parked skycar and sighs as she realizes she's been here for over an hour. She'd spent the last decade of her life working in law enforcement and she still had doubts. Was there ever an end to crime? Would they ever fix society? Can society even be fixed?

She sighs again.

It's five years ago in four months and yet everyone still felt the impact of the Invasion. The day everything changed. The day fire rained from the sky. The day tens of thousands died. The day everyone she knew died.

"But Dylan." She smiles weakly at that thought. It took three years to finally figure out the timeline, but they now knew what happened that day.

The Eclipse took everyone by storm when they dropped out of FTL in high orbit over Thessia. They swarmed every ship with fighters and GUARDIAN lasers, taking over the space around Thessia within half an hour. Only moments later the public knew what was happening as they hit the major ports and public buildings with pre-planted detonation packs they must have set up for months.

_Just another failure of the APC to protect Armali. A failure of Serrice's Police Force as well apparently, they found charges that never detonated at their headquarters months after the Invasion ended. Lucky._

Once the Public knew what was happening the Eclipse used the ensuing chaos to drop hundreds of thousands of mechs onto Thessia by the second hour.

_I killed nearly a third of my staff..._

Rila's eyes tear up as she starts remembering what SHE had done with the prior Commissioner to "stop" the Eclipse.

"Goddess..." Her chest tightens as she smells the blood, sees her friend's faces, sees everyone.

Her head falls into her hands and she wishes she hadn't listened to that traitor.

"Why didn't I just shoot her?" She shakes her head and tries to cut off her tears, "Stop it! You're the Commissioner now, you have to stay strong for all of them." She scolds herself for _feeling_ and takes a breath as everything is pushed back down where hopefully it'll stay for a few more...

She pauses and wipes her tears away as she sees a familiar skycar fly by. "days..."

_Wait... is that...?_

She follows it for a bit longer before seeing it dive under a cargo freighter to turn right and into oncoming traffic. She laughs, "Yep, that's him alright." She quickly hops into her city-issued skycar and takes off after him. She needed some entertainment right now.

What is he doing so close to the center of Armali? Aren't his classes in Serrice now?

She follows him for a bit, actually noticing the shift between when his VI LIA is driving and when he is.

"He's getting a bit better... I think." She states as she sees him cut off a Matriarch and nearly hit a building.

_Ok, that's WAY too dangerous. _

She turns on her sirens and flies up behind him. She sees him turn around and look at her so she waves and he looks a bit shocked before pulling over to land in the parking lot for a _Stop n Shop_.

Rila gets out as he does and she actually fumbles as she gets a good look at his armor. White and purple.

_Oh by the goddess..._

She bites her lip to stifle her laughter as they meet half-way, "Hey I saw you were flying a bit... crazy." She states in a serious voice.

He shrugs, "I guess I was, I'm new to driving the thing and still can't get the damn VI to work right."

She raises an eyebrow at him and smirks, "Really? You sure it's not the person _flying_ the vehicle?"

He blushes, "Uh..."

She shakes her head and takes a step towards him, "You know... I could let your wreck-less endangerment to civilian life go if you do something for me." She gives him a seductive look and he raises both eyebrows in surprise.

Suddenly his lips curl upwards and he smiles that strange smile that she just can't stand, "My lucky day, a corrupt cop."

She laughs and knocks on his armor, "You know that color makes you look like a Bio-Ball athlete right?"

Scorpio groans, "God I fucking hate this thing."

She laughs at his discomfort, "What are you doing here anyways? I thought your Martial Biotics classes were in Serrice?"

He rubs the back of his neck, "Well... I decided I wasn't going to finish my advanced training."

She frowns in confusion, "Why?"

He stares at her, "Well for one it would take ten more years of my life and I don't feel like waiting until I'm 34 to start using my training."

Rila laughs, "Seriously? Only 34? I was still living with my mother at that age."

He rolls his eyes, "Oh haha, yes I'm seriously young in your eyes. I've got a hundred years to live mind-you. I can't waste ten years of my life working on a goal I'll never accomplish."

She looks away, "I know what you mean."

"Are you alright Ri?"

She sighs and puts a smile on her face, "Yeah I'm alright."

He looks at her that way that makes her feel like she's under a microscope and she shrinks away, "Y-yeah what were you doing really? I'm curious." She tries to shange the subject.

He smiles, letting her off the hook, "Yeah, I was just going to stop by the apartment for my regular armor before seeing if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight."

She tries to not look surprised, but her eagerness to do something other than paperwork wins as she throws her arms around him in a big hug, "Thank the Goddess!"

He laughs at her reaction and holds her close. "Don't look so eager or anything."

The pain of remembering her choices during the Invasion still fresh in her mind, she throws all caution to the wind and kisses him on the lips. She knows how dangerous it was to show they were together to the public, but she doesn't care. She wanted him to know how much she loved him and a few local shoppers weren't going to recognize him in this armor anyways. She wonders if it was a mistake until he pushes back and their tongues inter-twine, pulling a moan from her throat as her body weight pushes them back against his skycar. She tries to balance the emotions from her past and the love for Scorpio towards the latter, but she can't control herself; her tears stain her cheeks.

This makes him pause to see the conflicting emotions in her eyes. He smiles sadly as he feels them too, somehow. She knows, she can see it well up in his eyes. Thankfully he opens his skycar so they can fall into the back seats for some privacy. He closes the skycar up and locks it for security reasons. So many conflicts, love for Dylan, hate of herself, despair for her profession, content for her life with Scorpio. It's all too much and she breaks under the pressure, she needs to feel loved right now. "Dylan..." Their eyes meet and he understands, like he always does. His armor is off in an instant, as is her uniform. If the skycar had wheels it would've rocked indefinitely at the intensity of their love-making. One moment Dylan was under her, another she was under him, "Dylan!" She begs him to give all of himself to her, just once. Just... forget who they were and what they've been through so they could share something beautiful.

Their minds connect and she feels him inside, and she drifts away from herself to be inside him. She hits a wall and nearly cries before his love wraps around her and she's granted access for the first time ever...

She'd always been frightened of this part, even with all the times they've had sex, they'd never melded minds completely. It was always on the surface, and in a relationship that put doubts in her mind that he didn't actually love her, but...

She can't breath now, so overwhelming his emotions are. The pure fear of letting her in, the excitement of having this part of him shared,

his wants: peace

his desires: her

his needs: stability

his terrors: insanity...

She digs deeper and can't imagine anything but him being in pain. Pain... so much pain...

She gasps, both in mind and body, as she feels his loneliness from when he was young and miss-understood. All his laughter leaving him after one night. She feels the fear Dylan had of himself in the instant he killed the rapist attacking someone close to him named Sarah, and she pours as much understanding as she can into it to numb the pain.

She sees, but doesn't understand his life, his... games, Mass Effect, seem too familiar and she's confused so he guides her towards what he thinks of as his, "Last day on Earth." She'd heard of it before from him during their talks, so she readies herself for immense pain.

_How else would he make it to Thessia? He wasn't born here. _

She watches in detail the interactions of Dylan and his friends, laughing when he laughs, thinking when he thinks, tearing up when he cries internally about Sarah...

Rila questions Dylan what happened to Sarah and everything stops.

_I don't know... I left and can never go back..._

_Why can't you return?_

He doesn't answer her, just gives her another memory.

She holds onto him even more as she sees him... she sees him die! She sees him DIE! He DIED! She can't breath. She loves a dead man. She- and that's when he... wakes up? She's confused and so is Dylan at this point. She feels his pain as he feels the injury on his left leg. She sees his reaction to Liara and instantly feels jealous, but Dylan soothes these new fears instantly, with Liara leaving before the Invasion.

Her body tenses and she can't see it, she sees nothing but Dylan's thoughts. Something changes that neither of them can notice at this point.

Rila can't help but cry out as she witnesses Dylan kill a Turian and nearly die all to save a little girl. She laughs at seeing herself through Dylan's eyes at that point, her stoic expressions being so difficult for Dylan to read.

She sees him recover, the deepest regrets reach his mind as he leaves the hospital and... crashes? She sees him crash a skycar, literally crash a skycar, into a Blue-Suns depot and bursts out laughing mentally.

Her body gasps and digs deeper to strengthen their connection to each other, and Dylan's body naturally does the same.

She can see the horror of Dylan's first moments on Thessia, and once again she feels pure hatred and jealousy as she finds a deep memory of Neril and Dylan having sex. She wanted him, she wants him closer, she always wanted him to be only hers, but she stops as she sees Neril... die in front of Dylan. Mein "saves" Dylan and Rila can't decide whether to be relieved by it or fearful of what happened to Neril.

Hundreds of thoughts rush by and she's by Dylan's side in the Hospital, panic clear in her eyes, as Dylan looks away with so much fear and regret that he feels like dying.

She sees them fall in love, the small touchings of compassion over the next months turning into a connection neither knew about.

She reads the letter to Mein and is confused again as to who Marillin was. Dylan can't answer, she knows, she can feel his uncertainty.

Their first kiss... Rila could've died in that moment and never regretted a thing.

She sees her mother refusing to help Thessia and she feels betrayed, but Dylan shows her his forgiveness and she can understand why.

The Invasion hits, the deaths, Scorpio truly coming out for the first time ever, taking life like it was nothing to end a horrible-

She skips past it all and up to when he felt like he was dying under the AA gun. She sees his struggle and can hear a voice trying to stop him from winning, then he pukes up blood...

Fear shoots up her spine that he actually died, again, and came back to fight.

She can't help but feel her heart fill with joy once again as she sees the other side of their commitment to each other.

She sees Scorpio and Dylan become the same person as the Invasion ends and they're sitting in that communications room, tired as hell.

_It's so strange, knowing everything from your perspective love._

_I feel the same, I'm... so sorry for what happened to you at the APC Rilana, I... wish I knew how badly it hurt you._

They're making out in his apartment and she sees what he sees, the definition of "Trans-Human" finally making sense and she can't believe it. He can't either, how could anyone believe that?

They live together, she sees his secrets... the Reapers.

Again everything stops as the horrors of them flash before her, but with a sense of... the future? She can't understand them, or how he can, and she feels frightened. He promises to her that he will explain and she moves on to all his training, the stress, Aethyta. Rila shakes her head mentally and gawks at the shocking amount of discipline Dylan shows during his training. She understands his reasons to avoid the advanced training classes now, too much to risk for not enough gain.

She's furious that he sent the Torniquen to its demise and he outlines the millions of credits he paid to each family for their loss and the fact he gave them the risks before hand.

_You blackmailed the Captain!_

_I... can't justify that._

That makes her pause, he did it, he willingly took a risk that ended with the death of over fifty people and he... regrets it. She loves him more for it, for sharing it, and regretting it.

The entire experience is both maddening and eye-opening. Two minds become one, two bodies intertwine and at the end... when Rila opens her own deep black eyes and sees the man she, beyond any doubt, loves... she knows the choice she made in his mind... was the right one.

* * *

_I... I can't believe it..._

I sit back in my skycar seat and wave to Rila as she takes off in her patrol skycar.

_I can't believe I just... holy mother of all the gods in the universe... and she understands!_

I laugh out loud at the thought. "She actually understands it! I had nothing to worry about!"

_I feel like slapping myself, god I was so stupid!_

I let LIA set the coordinates for the apartment as I just bask in the idea that not only had I been wrong this entire time, but Rila understands it!

"I am... gods above..." I rest my face in my hands and smile brightly at the experience she and I just shared.

_They were right, mind-melding is the deepest form of trust an Asari can give you. I'm surprised she didn't react negatively to me initiating the meld. Maybe she just didn't notice?_

I shake my head as I can't get over how amazing it was.

_I opened up my soul, my history, my pain to her and she just... accepted it. How can anyone accept it! I can't accept it!_

I let myself relax for the first time in a week straight and sigh contentedly as my skycar zooms off towards its destination.

* * *

(back on the Unora)

Meeriva sits back in her seat at the head of the ship's bridge and crosses her legs, "Report Erian, what's our status?"

Her left hand turns in his seat to face her, "The coordinates are coming up in a few moments, but according to Falon we have to drop out early to avoid the black-hole's Accretion disk. So... about two?"

She raises an eyebrow at him, "Two? Is that a question or an answer?"

He scowls at her, "An answer without certainty... captain."

She sighs, "Falon?"

The young quarian quickly jumps out of his seat near the back and runs to her side, "Yes Ma'am?"

She continues to stare out at the lights show FTL was blasting against their main display, "How long?"

She subtly hears him typing on his omni-tool for a moment before it appears in-front of her face, "Thirty three, two, one, Thirty seconds ma'am."

She nods up at him to return to his seat and he does, "Prepare for re-entry everyone!"

Everyone straps in their safety harnesses and prepares for a jarring ride. FTL space-flight was a bit like jumping off a bridge and into the lake on the Presidium. If you don't know how to swim your chances of survival are near zero. You're old as hell and wearing armor? Near zero as well. Now, put a Krogan in heavy armor with an air-tank in that same lake and he'll survive indefinitely, it'd just take a few weeks to get him out of there.

Meeriva grips her seat as Hans counts down, "Five, four, three, two, one..." He deactivates FTL and the entire ship jerks to one side as the ancient motion-dampeners pop under the intense transition. Everything spins for a moment before Hans activates the accelerators and everyone's thrown back into their seats while the dampeners restarted.

Meeriva sighs in relief that the old girl held together as everyone unstraps their harnesses, "Ok, I haven't had that smooth of a run in years!" She laughs, "How's everyone doing?"

"Good!" Kera speaks up from the back. "Toric banged his head against the hull only once this time and Marika didn't puke inside her helmet!"

A heaving sound is followed by a thick sloshing as Marika's lunch meets the inside of her face-mask.

"Oh... nevermind! Keelah, Marika I keep telling you to take those nausea pills."

Meeriva smiles and turns back to the viewing port as Hans and Erian guide them past a quite dense asteroid belt. "Keelah..." Everyone looks up and gasps in awe at the sight of the small black-hole slowly devouring a star that had gotten trapped in it's massive gravity well.

"Falon?" Meeriva asks hesitantly.

"Yes?" He calls from the back as he walks up again.

"Are we safe?" She doesn't dare look away from the bothering sight.

"Uh... yes, as long as we stay clear of the Accretion disk we should be fine." Falon doesn't sound convinced though.

Meeriva sighs, "Alright then, Hans, get me a full scan of the area, no restrictions, full band."

Falon speaks up, "Restrict the range to a hundred km to avoid detecting ghost signals from the black-hole."

Hans looks at Meeriva for confirmation and she nods, "He's the expert here."

She sits back as a strange feeling settles in her bones from staring at the two titans clash on a galactic scale. "bleep" She looks to the left to see Orisha floating there.

"Uh... Pormil? Your drone is staring at me."

Promil rushes up and quickly corals Orisha back to her seat, "Sorry, I think I set her on free-roaming by accident."

Meeriva sits back again, just watching their progress as they continue to scan the immediate area, for what? She doesn't know, but no frigate travels so far from civilized space for nothing.

"I've got something!"

Meeriva jumps at Erian's frantic voice, "What? What's out there?"

He shakes his head, "No, this can't be right..." He types some more, "I'm going to do a precision scan this time, get a better image."

She's starting to get impatient, "What are we dealing with Erian?"

He continues to ignore her until his display beeps, "Huh, well I'll be damned."

Meeriva's patients cracks, "What is out there Erian!"

He turns in his seat with a surprised expression behind his white mask, "Its... a structure."

She rolls her hand for him to continue, "And...?"

He blinks and looks back at the display, "It's... it looks like..."

Meeriva's had enough of this shit. She pulls out of her seat and steps over to look over his shoulder, "Keelah... is that...?"

He just nods in absolute astonishment.

"Put it on holo!" Meeriva orders.

The old holo projector centered in the middle of the bridge starts to flicker to life, showing broken images.

"Come on you Bosh'tet!" Meeriva kicks it and it starts to even out.

The orange outline blinks into place and layer upon layer of the hologram begins building something very strange looking.

"Uh... what is that?" Hans asks in confusion.

"Just give it a moment." Falon states as he too watches the image continue to build itself slowly.

A moment later everyone gasps in equal surprise, shock, and apprehension.

What they were looking at, what they have found...

Meeriva's face sets with determination, "We have to tell the Flotilla about this."

Everyone nods in agreement as what they have found... was a previously unknown... active Mass Relay sitting comfortably on the far edge of the lone star being slowly torn apart by the resident black-hole.

* * *

A/N And there we go. Why am I showing all of you this disturbing discovery by the Quarians? Why, because it hints as to why D asked Scorpio to go there himself! :D

Sorry about this being a thousand words short, but I just couldn't add anything else without disturbing the natural separation between chapters.

My main goal with this chapter was to show Scorpio and Rilana's relationship grow finally into intimacy, but... I ended up adding in some stuff about the Torniquen and D just to keep the balance.

Tell me how I did! I haven't written too many relationship scenes and I think I did this one well, if a bit third-person.

Have a great day and a better week everyone!

For those who didn't get it, Dark Spaces? Dead Space? Rings a few bells? ;)

Did anyone notice how NO-ONE DIED in this chapter? I checked back and... apparently this is rare for me!


	24. Origins of a Quarian

A/N Absolutely amazing, I'm back and pushing chapters. ;)

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

* * *

"...then she just said, 'so when are we having cake?' so I said-"

I smirk and say, "The cake is a lie?"

Rila frowns across the table at me, "No... I said, 'What cake?' and SHE was the one that walked away slowly and muttered, 'The cake is a lie' but thanks for ruining it."

I scowl and she scowls right back, I glare and she glares right back, then we both burst out laughing and end up on the receiving end of some nasty glares from the patrons around us. I laugh a bit harder as she accidentally snorts and it turns into a complete comedy as I fall out of my chair.

"Sir I have to ask you and your date to leave!" The concierge shouts over the murmurings of discomfort the other diners were uttering.

Rila's the one to calm down first and then helps me up as I dust myself off, still smiling from the hilarity of the evening.

Turning to the young Asari wearing quite a revealing aquatic-blue dress I wave my hand at her in frustration, "Sorry, sorry, I was mistaken for thinking it was a social norm to enjoy myself at dinner." I state flippantly with a deceiving smile.

She blinks at me in confusion, "Uh... right yes, now please leave as you are disturbing everyone's evening."

I feel Rila rolling her eyes behind me and cross my arms, we'd barely been there ten minutes and hadn't even gotten our drinks yet. "Disturbing their sleep perhaps, it's been ten minutes and I haven't even seen my drink! In fact I haven't seen anyone get their meals the entire time we'd been here!" I turn away from her as her face burns in frustration. Raising my voice; I address the large dinning room containing more than two dozen patrons, "In fact I'd wager that the cook is completely incapacitated by the complete and utter lack of plates leaving the kitchen am I correct?"

"I... I wa-"

I cut her off, "Is that a yes or a no?"

She falters as fifty eyes land on her waiting for answers, because it was curious how no-one had gotten any meal, drink, or even a simple menu. "... yes?"

"Yes?" Rila's voice flies over my shoulder as she's finally caught up with me.

"I... the chef hasn't arrived. In fact I'm the... only employee here today." She cringes as her words echo over the now dead-silent hall.

…

"WHAT?!"

Rila and I escape out the back door through the kitchen as the entire place turns into a brawl of who'd tear into the single concierge cowering in the corner.

"Come on!" I call as we start climbing the staircase to the roof, two dinner guest behind us welding cooking pot and spatula.

_These uptight people sure get angry when you waste their time._

"Goddess be damned I shouldn't have worn heels!" Rila stumbles in her dress and falls onto the next flat.

"Rila get them off!" I turn and toss a pair of mines on the ground near the furious patrons chasing us.

"What the-?" One says as he steps on one of the blinking lights.

_FLASH!_

I watch as the two stub backwards from my flash-bangs, shouting as their eyes burn from the intense light. My own are a bit more resistant so I simply blink twice and the permanent white is gone. "Come on!" I grab Rila's arm as she finishes taking off her heels and start running again.

As we make it to the roof LIA's awesome timing allows us to immediately leave via my skycar.

"Well, that could have gone better." Rila comments as she sits back to inspect a rip her trip had torn into her dress.

"I thought it went well." I smile at her as she looks up to roll her eyes at my sarcasm.

She sighs as she looks back to the rip and shrugs, "Well this dress is ruined."

"Really?" I say as I manually plot a course back to the apartment.

"Yeah, and I'd agree with going home if we actually did something tonight."

I look at her out of the corner of my eye and she's looking pretty sad, staring out the window with a depressed puppy look.

_Awe hell..._

"That's it." I type in some new coordinates and she seems to perk up.

"Where are we going?" She asks with apprehension.

I sit back in my seat and void my face of any expression, "You'll see."

She raises a non-eyebrow in curiosity and continues to watch my lack of an expression for a few minutes before giving up and sitting back in her seat, "Alright."

I'm jumping in joy on the inside as I turn to watch the sun finally set on the horizon.

_This is so much fun! I can't believe that in the five and a half years we'd known each other we'd never just went out and had fun! I suppose I had no time and she had no motivation._

"We should go out more often you know." I say out of the blue.

She turns to look at me in surprise before smiling, "I'd avoid going to public places and making a scene. You do know what will happen as soon as I'm seen in public with you?"

I swallow nervously for some strange reason and look out my window, trying not to think about it. "What about tonight?"

"None of them care, they aren't even from this system not with those dresses." She snorts at the thought before going serious again, "I know the risks too Dylan, that's why I'm here, and I am enjoying myself. I just don't want either of us to get in trouble for having a relationship."

I don't look at her, "I know."

_But I don't, I don't understand why the more I accomplish in my career, the less I'm able to really do for myself. I really ha-_

_BEEP BEEP_

I blink in surprise and look down at my wrist for a moment that seems to be beeping. "Oh." I nearly face-palm as I forgot about my omni-tool and open the message...

_BLEEP_

...which opens up a direct connection with an off-world server. "Hello?" I ask as all I see is static.

Rila scoots over, "What's happening?"

"I just got a message from off-world but-" The screen blinks before showing a very familiar black mask.

"Scorpio we've got a situation." A familiar black mask states seriously.

"Mein? What's going on? I asked you to not message me unless it's important!" I frown at her in confusion.

She looks at me then at Rila and shakes her head, "I swear if you two weren't such close friends of mine I'd cut your throats out for annoying me. We've got a situation."

I roll my eyes, "I know you just said that, now elaborate please." I state agitatedly.

She shakes slightly and her glowing eyes widen slightly, "I've got to go." and she ends the call.

Rila and I look at each-other and I give her an extremely specific 'look'.

She sighs, "Alright, drop me off somewhere and I'll make my way back home."

LIA drops the skycar down into a garage and Rila's door opens up. I grab her arm as she turns to exit and pull her into a hug, "Sorry for tonight, I'll make up for it somehow."

She holds me for a moment before kissing my cheek and saying, "Go fucking kill some bad guys already."

The skycar closes up and I just stare out at her in surprise as I fly off towards the industrial districts.

* * *

A blue glow hidden within the burning light of a mighty celestial body. Unknown to all and silent for millions of years. Untouched by organic hands for so long that not even the smallest trace of evidence could have possibly survived the continuous bombardment from the class F-4 star holding it in orbit. Hundreds of thousands of meters away, just beyond the accretion disk of the nearby black hole sits the largest fleet in the current known galaxy; sitting in wait for the moment they can invade and harvest the ancient technology secured deep within.

"Insects..." A metallic claw grasps the holo orb in its clutches. "Using our technology to better their own..."

A green light flickers behind the creature, "There is a problem."

A growl escapes the thing's throat as its strength shatters the holo orb. It tosses the slick contents at the drone behind him, staggering it slightly, "WHO?!"

The drone flickers in what some might see as utter fear. It doesn't reveal anything beyond it's small green light.

The metallic thing turns its burning red eyes towards the drone fully, expecting an update, "Who?" It asks again, a bit more calm and collected.

The drone huffs, "Well I'd assume that is an apology, because my circuits are now quite jostled from your wild outburst of emotion."

The thing groans with a release of air from its nanite-filled lungs.

The drone takes the hint and floats closer to the display as the twisted creature sits back in its chair, "There has been a new disturbance in sector nine, four hundred twelve point six-"

"Get on with it!"

The drone turns to glare at it's master before bringing up the new display, a small white orb that slowly rotates around a massive red super-giant."

"Outpost five?" The metal thing deduces.

The drone simply nods.

"Good..." It smiles and leans forwards to get a better look at the mining complex and machines slowly resurfacing the small planetoid; stripping it for the rare mineral resources contained within the crust.

* * *

Mein had gotten word from the Fleet about a discovery, something 'beyond important' out in the Hades Gamma. After double-checking the coordinates... I nearly passed out. They were an exact match to the coordinates I sent the Torniquen to.

"Tell the Fleet to pull back!" I screamed immediately.

Mein simply laughed, saying that she already secured the surrounding space with Evron's small fleet of patrol ships and negotiations over the discovery would ensue with my arrival.

"It's not a discovery! It's-" I tried to argue but she had the better argument...

"Why leave something so important to be destroyed? The Relay was activated when we arrived and within eighty Galactic hours it'll finish it's orbit around the star and be destroyed by the black hole! I am not leaving!" She screamed logic at me, but my guts, my metal-interwoven guts, told me it was a mistake.

"Fine! But I get the last say in this!" And that was the end of our communication.

_It's been four hours of Relay transit since I left Thessia, and I still have no idea what's happening._

"A Mass Relay...?" I whisper to myself in the solidarity of my quarters. I had taken my private company shuttle off world after leaving Rila back on the streets of Armali. Now I'm trying to understand one thing...

_Why? What does D want with a Mass Relay? Why send me there? Why am I betraying it by not coming? It's been years since the last communication from D and the last ended with thousands dead and a Homeworld in ruins. If this turns out to be just as bad... Gods help us all..._

* * *

Waking up again during FTL, I sit up and rake my suit's armored gloves through my freshly cut hair and try to calm down.

_My heart hasn't stopped pounding since I left Thessia. Interstellar travel might be common-place in the Mass Effect Universe, but even the THOUGHT of it was simple dreams back in my own. Sure I'd left Thessia once before, to secure a political alliance with the Turian Councilor, but I slept through most of it. Feeling the ship fall in and out of FTL, sensing how... violent the Dark Energy around me was being changed... it's sickening and exhilarating._

Sitting up, I open a comm to the bridge and see my Salarian pilot was still hard at work for Evron, "Where are we?" I ask lamely, still trying to get over the constant texture of the universe itself rushing past me like grinding metal on metal right in your ear.

He smiles at me, "Nearing drop point, two minutes. How did you sleep?"

I stand up and continue the conversation as I walk through the ship towards the bridge. "Fine, I guess. How's the meeting going?"

He huffs in slight annoyance before looking at the camera and apologizing, "Apologies, I had forgotten you were asleep. The diplomatic relations between us and the Fleet is deteriorating."

I get to the bridge and end the connection to sit next to him in the co-pilot's seat, noticing the flight course from my few afternoons studying space travel in my free-time. "Is that so? I'm not surprised."

He looks over at me with a raised brow.

I look back and he's staring, "What?"

He blinks once, "You are not like they say you are."

I blink this time, "Who says I'm like what?"

He turns back to the display and corrects a few numbers to stabilize our exit from FTL... I think. "Heroic, demanding, strong-willed and cold. A bit like a Dalatrass if I am not mistaken."

I roll my eyes and make an annoyed sound in the back of my throat, "The public just loves messing with someone's image."

He smiles, "I do not believe they captured the better qualities of your personality. You are particularly interesting."

I look at him and cross my arms, a raised eyebrow in question.

He smirks, "Very witty and beyond observant. A bit cautious, but in this time of war and strife the galaxy needs people like you running around in it."

"I don't run around anything. Mein-"

He stops me with a three fingered hand, "We know of your new employment with Ardania and we approve, your ideas will ultimately change Thessia completely."

I look out the view-port in-front of us and try to remember a time I even did something intentionally good. "Hopefully for the better."

"Always for the better Scorpio, without the income I get from your company my entire clan's breeding contracts will surely go, as you human's say, 'belly up'." He looks away from my curious stare to grab the controls, "Exiting FTL. Ready yourself, a burst-transmission says that hostilities will be high on both sides."

"Perfect."

Our helmets instantly fold up as the cabin pressurizes and folds together, lowering our area of exposure down to a mere fraction of what it was before. My companion leans forwards in his black and green highlighted armor to guide the sleek two-man shuttle out of FTL like pro. My first sight of the system is the massive black hole radiating a constant band of energy from the clouds of particles around it. I stare at it in awe.

"Ten seconds to contact with the Endeavor." He mutters beside me.

"Identify." Is the only word asked over the radio.

I shake myself out of it and lean in to say, "Darkness sees only Darkness." A simple phrase that changed daily in the company and was different between ships.

"Agreed, dock at bay six, welcome Scorpio." The communication dies.

My sight-seeing is cut short as the hull of one of Evron's cruisers comes into sight. "It's amazing what she's done in three years..."

My pilot nods in agreement as the docking bay doors atop the Endeavor opens up to allow us entry. Our small ship drifts into the bay just as it closes and resets the duel Guardian lasers mounted for extra security. Small kinetic barriers grab onto our shuttle and guide us the rest of the way into port before latching on with magnetic clamps. Our seats lower out of the ship just as I designed two years prior and we both step out to be greeted by Mein herself with two Turian guards in Evron's standard deep black with sharp green highlighted armor. Rifles on their back indicating their lack of hostility towards us. "Welcome to the Endeavor." Mein says with pride.

I shake her hand and we're off. The pilot staying behind to refuel and recalibrate the ship's systems, basic maintenance.

I take in the sights around me in awe that the theoretical design I drew up two years ago was before my eyes, down to the simple and sharp architecture that makes every corner a defensive powerhouse.

"Amazing isn't it?" She asks as we enter the rail system. "It took nearly a billion credits to build this masterpiece. Many many less than any ship in even the Quarian Flotilla, and yet it runs twice as fast with double the durability!" She laughs a rare giggle of excitement I normally only hear from her when she's killing someone. "It's the biggest of the three we managed to make so far. Keelah I still wonder how we did it."

I look at her, how relaxed she is, the mannerisms of a sociopath now coddled over years of dealing with the 'ordinary' population. "Yeah, you Quarians always bragged how ingenious you were with tech, now the Galaxy can finally see it! Less than ten Galactic months it took to build this damn thing, and from spare parts no less!" I shake my head in amazement before getting us back on track as my helmet folds back into my collar, "So, how's it going with the Fleet?"

She scowls at me for ruining her good mood, but doesn't threaten to rip my lung out and stuff a grenade into my esophagus so it's an improvement. "Those Bosh'tets want to record the event like it's a damn tourist attraction! What it would take for the Admiralty board to realize a celestial tragedy I don't know." she shakes her head.

The railway stops and we enter the bridge, which I modeled after the Normandy, which hasn't been built yet for obvious reasons... its so awesome. "What do you propose we do? I'm no astrophysicist, I can't calculate what it would take to move a freaking Mass Relay."

She slaps my arm, "Stop joking you cloaca, we have an entire Fleet of ships here that could tow it out of the path of the black hole!"

I look at her carefully, wondering why she didn't punch me, has she always been this insane? "I think we should see what the experts think about it first."

She steps up to the galaxy map and brushes a hand across the display, bringing up the Mass Relay, the star, and the black hole. "There is a ninety-seven percent chance that the Mass Relay will detonate as it starts getting ripped apart. All my people-"

I cut her off, "Our people..."

She glares over her shoulder at me, "Sure. Everyone I've asked has stated that if detonated, the Mass Relay will indefinitely fall into the Black Hole which-"

I finish the statement, "and feed the Black Hole with an indefinite amount of energy."

She silently nods as an assistant hands her a datapad, "We just finished running the simulations." She flicks the screen on the pad up to the map and a small clip plays out where... well... you know how the galaxy map looked after the Arrival mission where the cascading wave of energy tears the Bahak system apart? Yeah according to this the intense gravity-well created by the destruction of the Mass Relay will most likely shred the local star apart, forcing it into a supernova within the next thousand years or so which, according to the simulation, will spread to all of the Hades Gamma cluster within the last thousand, making over a dozen colony worlds and over a hundred systems uninhabitable for perhaps millions of years. Needless to say my first reaction to this was, "Holy fucking God..."

Mein and the rest of the bridge staff all try to shake off the shock of such an event, but it just lingers there while the same image is being transferred to the Fleet.

Moments later they send back their response, "When do you require aid?"

* * *

An hour later Mein, myself, the five members of the Admiralty board, Raan, Xen, Han, Koris, and Zorah were all crammed into our shuttles and floated over to the Rayya for an emergency debriefing of the situation with the Quarian public.

"Please everyone calm down!" Rana shouts over the raging crowd in the Atrium. A single representative from each ship in the fleet, some captains, some members of their crew, arrived as customary.

The crowd doesn't listen.

"We are going to address everyone's concerns in due time!" Han attempts as well.

Koris and Xen stand back, letting the other three handle the situation.

"We need to face facts here, arguing over who gets to argue will gain us nothing!" Koris adds his voice surprisingly after another moment of chaos. It doesn't help.

Apparently there's a rule within the Quarian society to warn the fleet of any dangers BEFORE jumping into the middle of them, and their proximity to a Black Hole had caused an uproar in the civilian sector.

_BLAM!_

The entire room shuts up to look at the smoking barrel of Admiral Xen's shotgun which she just fired into the ceiling before shouting, "We are babbling like simple children while the entire Fleet, and my labs, are in danger of being engulfed by a Black Hole!"

The room stays completely silent after that.

_Damn Xen..._

"Thank you Xen for the holes in my ship." I turn my head and freeze in shock as I come face to face with Admiral Rael'Zorah himself as he walks into the Atrium. I turn from the guest podium before to let him step up.

Xen holsters her weapon and rolls her eyes, "Oh get over yourself Zorah I barely scratched the hull."

Rael doesn't falter, "I'll have to requisition some scrap metal for the repairs later, no need to have the Atrium undergo emergency venting." He looks at me, as I'm staring. "And I haven't had the chance to be formally introduced to the man responsible for the recent situation." He holds out a hand to me, "Rael'Zorah, recently inducted Captain of the Alarei, but I still consider the Rayya my home."

I snap out of my shock and take his hand, "Dylan David Scorpio of Evron Industries. It is good to meet you Admiral, I hope we can avert a crisis here."

He releases his hold to fold his arms behind his back, "Agreed, your... mechanic's suggestion, that we... tow the Mass Relay out of the Black Hole's direct influence..." He shakes his head, "I must say I did not expect it."

I take the hint as my brain restarts, "You don't believe it could work?"

He shakes his head, "No, I don't, but Raan and Han has informed me of your actions towards the Quarian race on Thessia, as well as elsewhere and... I trust your judgment on the matter."

Raan steps forwards with the others as Rael takes his spot up with the others, "Yes, we all owe our recent prosperity to your company and by extension; you Scorpio. As we said before, we are ready to help."

Koris huffs, "I seriously hope this plan goes beyond, 'attach chain, kick the engines' because it won't work."

"I believe some form of action is necessary. SOME action, such as leaving before it detonates." Xen states selfishly.

"And hope that our mere presence here doesn't make us suspect?" That's Han. "The Council would attempt to use it to isolate us further." He shakes his hand at her, "This plan is insane, but if we do nothing the Council will hate us for it."

I step up this time, "If we succeed Admirals, this could bring the Quarians back to the Citadel!" I don't believe it myself, but I have to try to avoid this catastrophe.

"Without proper gravity wells set in place the Relay would simply counter any effort at moving it." Xen states flippantly, "I restate that this is a waste of time, the fact of the matter is that there ARE no facts!"

Mein finally steps up beside me, "Without the proper knowledge perhaps, but even you should know when the impossible is only improbable _mother_."

I nod at her statement as the room looks at her-

…

_...WHAT?!_

My head snaps so quickly to my left I crack my entire spine in one go. "What?" I ask numbly.

She ignores me as Xen notices Mein's sudden appearance before them, "Ah, Mein. I was wondering when you'd decide to return to your home."

_…I'm sorry what?_

Mein shakes her head and barks at her mother, "I do not belong inside your cage mother! Now leave it be before I decide to finally take your mechanical heart for myself!"

Xen laughs so much like Mein's one from earlier that I have to look at them both to check who laughed, "Always fighting against your nature aren't you? A shame, you were always my favorite."

I turn my head to look at Xen, then at Mein, then at Xen who's crossing her arms, and then at Mein who's doing the Exact. Same. Thing.

…

_...m'kay, what just happened?_

"Getting back to what's actually important, ladies?" Rael braves the dark waters and interrupts the dead silence, "Did you find anything else out?" He asks Mein directly.

I look out into space and try to comprehend the thought that Xen had at one point, decided to inseminate herself, and have a child. A. Child. A living breathing Quarian...

…

Then I try to connect Mein to being that Quarian... and I can actually FEEL my brain starting to develop an aneurysm.

_WHAT. IN. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK. JUST HAPPENED?_

I re-enter the conversation a bit late as I notice everyone's staring at me.

_Uh..._

"Well? What do you think Scorpio? Is it possible?" Raan is asking me this, and I have no idea what they're talking about.

_Well... fuck._

I turn to Mein to see if she can give me any clue as to what's been going on and she just smiles at me with amusement.

_That bitch._

I look at the crowd, the Admirals, completely lost, and pretend to be using it for a dramatic pause as I land my palms on the railing in-front of me, "If we don't do this, an entire section of the Galaxy will be wiped out within the next thousand years, dozens of worlds, millions of lives... The Migrant Fleet can do this, not for it's own safety, not because I ask this of you, but because the Galaxy asks you to." I start pacing nervously, "It's time to show the Council they were wrong in isolating the Quarians, they were wrong in making an entire species fend for themselves out in the dark reaches of the galaxy. It's time for the Quarians to slap the Council's up-tight self-righteous asses off their thrones and give them a face-full of regret to stomach for the rest of their lives!" I pound my fist on the railing to end my speech. At first everyone seems confused and I wonder if I just made a fool out of myself.

Koris speaks up, "So, it's settled. Scorpio will lead a boarding party onto the Mass Relay and attempt to manually re-correct its course."

_Wait... what?_

Hans agrees whole-heartedly, "I'll get my best troops onto shuttles and awaiting orders within the hour. Scorpio, you and your team will stay in radio contact at all times.

_Now hold on a-_

Xen sighs, "A suppose a few from my personal research team can accompany yours Han, no use of wasting any time while we're over there. Perhaps we'll discover some long lost Prothean data cache and it'll hold the secrets to controlling the Geth." She states sarcastically.

_Bubububububu-_

"Excellent, we will convene here again after the attempt." Raan says hopefully, "May the Ancestors watch over us all during this dangerous endeavor. Keelah Selai."

The crowd echoes the sentiment, "Keelah Selai."

_Holy frack..._

I turn to look at Mein and she's already walking back to the docking bay.

"Hey wait up!" I run after her and catch up as the Atrium doors close.

"What's up?" She asks casually.

I blink at the question, which sounds so strange from her mouth. "What's up? How about what the hell just happened?" I ask angrily.

She looks at me in that way I know all too well, the one that said, _'Really? Are you blind or just stupid?'_

I frown at her and she shakes her head, "Come on, you just gave a roaring speech all for my plan and now you're telling me you don't even know what it is?"

I growl at her, "I was a bit distracted by the fact that you're mother is Admiral fucking Xen!" She clenches her fists at the name. "When the hell were you going to tell me?" I demand furiously.

She gets right up in my face-mask, "Never, you sack of flesh, I don't enjoy being related to her any more than you enjoy being half synthetic."

I reel back from the thought that my absolute discomfort at being cybernetically enhanced was even comparable to someone's feelings towards their own mother, but then I remember my relationship with my own mother before... coming here and I relent. Quickly.

I snort at her audibly, "How about you start with your plan and we can just try to ignore that extremely relevant and important fact until later."

She shakes her head, "Not until everything is in place, that'll teach you to space out when I'm talking." She whips around and marches off towards our shuttle.

_God damn it Mein!_

I rush after her and nearly end up getting left on the Rayya as she starts the engines and takes off with me still in the airlock. "Fuck!" I slam the airlock shut via the emergency release next to it and seal it with LIA's help before turning as the decontamination cycle runs to bang on the door angrily, "That wasn't funny Mein!" All I can hear is her wicked laughter over the comms just before the shuttle shifts and I fall onto my ass as she banks just to be an ass. I groan from the slight impact I take and glare at her as she walks into the airlock and holds a hand down at me. I sigh and take it, shifting my body weight to stagger her as I come up, tossing her into the ship. I stand over her as she catches herself on the far wall with a furious look in her eyes. I feel the last of my adrenaline from the near-death wearing off as I whisper menacingly to her, exerting my intimidating stature as an adept biotic and augmented human as I do so. "Don't do that again, or I'll shatter your face mask against my knee."

Her eyes widen as she stares at my mask that's completely void of any expression. She blinks and leans up to stand right in front of me calmly, "I... would like that."

I just stare at her, watching her eyes through both our masks, using LIA's scans to indicate the possible inflections in her voice, but I can't see shit. I simply turn away without another word and return to my spot in the cockpit. "LIA set a course for the Endeavor; I need to prepare for the mission and I'd rather meditate in my own quarters."

I sit back in my chair as Mein silently sits in the navigator's and sets a direct course to the private hanger atop the Endeavor. I look at her expectantly and she looks back without any answers. I huff in annoyance and cross my arms over my chest, closing my eyes so I can try and control myself.

_It's rare that I blow up like that, lose total control. Mein just knows every one of my buttons and twists them after bashing them in with a mechanical punch. Take a deep breath and everything and everyone will be completely fine._

"We're going to board the Relay using three shuttles." Mein whispers just loud enough for my auditory sensors to pick it up.

I look at her again, watching as she manually activates the docking procedures for the Endeavor. I watch as her hands move deftly, tapping here or there, making adjustments many computers, VI's and even whatever LIA is, would have difficulty or even be completely impossible all together. "You designed it so only you know how to access it." I speak plainly.

She nods, "I like my privacy."

I nod in agreement as the shuttle folds into itself around us and is pulled using mechanical arms into the private docking bay I never knew even existed. "So do I."

_I don't have to explain myself to her, explain my outburst. She knows, it would be an insult to her intelligence if I did._

We drop through the floor and walk out of our seats and onto the platform. I take a moment to look around the dimly lit bay, just one ring of lights illuminating the platform we landed on.

"Can you see?" I turn to her and she's watching me intently.

I shake my head, "No, I can't."

She waits a moment before lifting her left hand to her helmet and tapping it, "Then look at me." She disappears from sight and it takes me no time for my instincts to kick in and mentally scan the local Dark Energy signature.

Instantly I see her standing barely two inches from my mask and I don't freak out for some reason, but what's strange is that I can see past the mask. I can see a full image of her face for the first time since we met in Acerbus Infinium. "I see you." I whisper behind my mask, she smiles lightly and I can see her struggling to keep her eyes from showing any emotion.

_She guards herself from judgement... because of Xen._

I take my gloved hands and place them on her shoulders, she flinches at the contact and struggles to not push away, "I understand." I say quietly.

She stares at me with a soft expression and I find myself calm again. I let my hands fall to my sides and she immediately puts two feet between us. We stare at each other for a moment before she says, "It's so... constricting."

I watch her lips move in her own native tongue a micro second before my translator gives me what she says.

She continues, "Only seeing a mask." I nod in understanding. "You think I'm a harsh and hateful bitch that likes murdering people and hurting others for fun." It's a statement rather than a question.

I open my mouth to answer, but I can't find the words.

"'Darkness sees only Darkness. Only when you open your eyes do you even begin to actually see...' my father said that to me only once, before he died in 2152 from the resulting exposure to me during the transition from the lab to my bubble." I just watch her face as it creases in sadness, but her eyes never change. "The only thing he said to me, and twenty five years later I'm still struggling to make sense of it." She rolls her neck and flexes her fists, a nervous habit she has. "Now I see what he means to some degree. Thank you Scorpio, for indulging me..." She looks away tiredly, "and dealing with me." She turns away before I can even think of a reply and walks down a platform and through an open doorway I hadn't noticed before.

As the bulkhead door closes behind her I step into the center of the platform and whisper, "You're welcome." in slight shock.

I stand there for a full minute, a long time for a transhuman, just pondering and replaying the conversation in my head. Once I've seen it for the fifth time I finally smile when I realize Mein just showed me the most beautifully intimate thing a Quarian could to a friend... she showed me her face, her true face. Not the one from Acerbus Infinium, but HER face, her real face. "Amazing." I mumble as I compare the two and they look nothing alike.

_In fact she's even more beautiful with soft features, that is so fucking strange to think about. Mein, the crazy Quarian that blew up my apartment, set me on fire, threatens my staff and anyone who comes near her, has killed people for looking at her wrong... has a beautiful face with soft, even kind, features._

I sit down and start my meditation, a small smile on my lips as I'm reminded once again that Mein was one crazy bitch that I still barely knew anything about.

* * *

The moment I closed my eyes and connected myself to the flow of the universe, my mind was no longer within itself. I was aware of my body, as I always was, but this time... this time I could... wander.

_I felt incomplete, restricted, yet completely free in what felt like only a moment._

I saw the black hole, the solid identity of Dark Matter in the known universe, as it echoed stories of a million years of destruction. I felt every burst of power, every whimper of a civilization as they passed it to access the Mass Relay there. I sensed the eons of silence between each Reaper invasion, then a burst of activity for only a microsecond in time, a few decades at most. The energy of the Mass Relay feeding the continuity of the Black Hole, the energy it stores completely rivaling its own for half of its existence. I searched the basic identity of it to see that... it wasn't natural. The Mass Relay... contains the Black Hole just as much as it restricts it. And just as I start to delve deeper into this truth I'm back in my body, being shaken awake my Mein.

"Wake up!" She punches the side of my helmet.

I push her off of me, "Fuck off!"

"The Relay Deactivated!"

My blood runs absolutely cold in the emotion of the statement. "What?" I ask, dumbfounded, as I sit there and stare up at her. "Isn't that a good thing?"

She grabs my arm and yanks me to my feet, "We need to go now!"

I stare at her as she runs back to the shuttle. I gasp as a pulse of Dark Energy flashes throughout the ship, "What the hell was that?!" I scream at her in shock.

"Just get the fuck in!" She screams back as the Endeavor's hull groans at the displacement of such a large energy burst.

I bolt it into my seat next to her, waiting for it to pull back into the ship before flashing the scanners on, "Oh my god..." I stare at the burning white ball of energy that was the Black Hole as it engulfs a small fraction of the local star, now put off balance by the now deactivated Mass Relay's residual gravity. Bursts of harmful Gamma radiation coming off of it in waves as the inactive core of the Relay magnifies the energy coming off the collapsing star. "What the hell happened?!" I shout to Mein as she tries to navigate our shuttle through the extremely tight docking bay.

"We don't know! Now shut up!" She yanks the shuttle left as the entire Endeavor rumbles with every new energy pulse.

I hold onto my seat with a death grip as we scrape along the side of the tunnel and nearly lose two of our systems just as we leave the docking bay to immediately turn towards the system the Quarians now call Leesali _"the gateway to the nexus"._

"Hold on!" Mein calls as she bypasses every warning and punches the dashboard. Suddenly my biotics flare.

"Ah!" I scream as I experience what feels like a supernova erupt from just aft of the ship.

A grinding is heard, and I distinctly hear a massive clunk before the nova collapses and I'm tossed back in my seat as LIA Declares, "Activating STORM Drive."

My eyes widen as everything rumbles, I can feel the energy being released and stare in shock as one moment we're located just to the side of the Endeavor, another second we're shaking violently and the cyclonic barrier shields are threatening to fail, then all of a sudden we drop out of it all, falling back into a resting position as something clearly explodes just behind us before dying with shrapnel hitting our seats.

...

I just sit there in shock, my hands gripping my chair so hard they bent the metal frame.

"Bosh'tet!" Mein bangs on the control panel as everything continues to spark around us.

I slowly turn my head, eyes wide, mouth gaping, to stare at her as she stands up and walks behind me in a huff.

I turn my chair slightly to stand just as it breaks off its mount and falls over to see a massive hole where the crew quarters used to be.

"Stupid piece of junk!" Mein kicks aside a large piece of the hull that broke off, which is somehow still mostly intact, to step through the mangled and twisted hallway into the engine compartment.

I just follow numbly as I try to understand what the hell just happened.

"Damn it!" She tosses a chunk of the core to the side as I enter a five meter in diameter engine core which looks like a bomb went off. The high-density generator rods shattered from whatever hit us. I slowly walk around some sparking electrical wiring and smoking machines to see Mein digging out an area behind the core I hadn't known about. She tries prying off the bend and blown off its seal, vault door leading to this hidden room, "Dylan help me with this!" She yanks on it without success.

I blink back into conscious thought and grab hold of the door, using my biotics and physical strength to drag the half ton door back and drop it next to the core.

Mein nods her head, "Good, now we just have to see what the damage is." She pats her hands together, getting rid of some metal fragments she picked up on the way and stepping into the dark room, activating her omni-light as she does, "Ancestors be damned!" She shouts a moment later.

I step into the room and show my own lights around, everything is scorched to all hell, still smoldering from the explosion.

She steps up to a still whirling device the size of a crouched Krogan that's glowing an errie biotic blue and still on fire, the... engine stuttering ever few seconds and nearly dying with the flickering lights around us twice before Mein pulls out a power cable from the side of it. The device wooshes and fires up without any trouble, illuminating the whole room without problems. All clanging and banging stopping as Mein makes a few adjustments to it, changing the direction the glowing metallic pieces inside spin every once and a while.

"LIA how did it run?" Mein asks as I'm still processing what the fuck happened.

"Other than the total meltdown of the Eezo reactor and rupturing of the coolant system in two areas, massive scorching on the interior hull and total eruption of the regulators you put in place to AVOID all of this; the test went surprisingly well, with only one fault in the Drive that was corrected once the regulators blew." The increasingly realistic personality matrix named LIA states with pride and scolding.

Mein laughs and rubs a hand on the drive's still shining metallic structure, "That's right baby, you ran just as good as I thought you would."

I stare at the strange display for multiple moments before finally asking, "What the fuck just happened?"

Mein looks up at me in question, "Baby here, out-preformed our original models!" Her normally dead voice is now filled with... pride?

I clench my fists in agitation, "No. What is the mother fucking hell just happened to the Shuttle?! To the Black Hole? To everything?!"

LIA clarifies, "The Black Hole was destabilized as the local Mass Relay deactivated, allowing the star we now know to be held in place by the Relay, to fall into the Black hole. The resulting eruption forced all our ships to flee with three Quarian Scout ships and the Endeavor caught in the blast before they could properly escape. Mein and I were barely able to activate the prototype STORM Drive mounted to this experimental shuttle just in time to escape the initial blast of Gamma radiation."

I blink again, rapidly, "A-alright, that explains the GTFO, but what the happened to the shuttle?! Why did it explode and what the hell is a STORM Drive?" I shout in complete frustration.

…

LIA speaks up, "Maybe we should address this after the Shuttle is repaired? I don't like the Idea of my consciousness being trapped inside a derelict ship."

Mein looks at the ceiling then at me as I fume, "Yes, just help me get this Drive properly hooked up to the back-up regulators and I'll explain everything as we go."

I stare at her for a moment before sighing, "Fine, but all of this is seriously not what I needed to deal with fight now! Gods all that meditation did NOT prepare me for some fucking Sci-fi eruption blowing up right the hell behind us!" I take in a deep breath of filtered air, "LIA is the Hull fully intact?"

...

"No, there are two cracked plates on the Starboard side of the ship, just by one of the destroyed regulators." She answers calmly in her synthesized voice.

I nod up at the ceiling, "Then I'm going outside to fix it." I rub my helmet and groan at my headache as I turn and walk out of the room, "I need some time alone."

"Of course Scorpio." Mein says quietly before taking out some tools from her suit and working on a control panel.

I stop in the doorway, listening to her work, but keep going after a moment.

_This is just too much right now, first the Black Hole and now this?_

I run a gloved hand down my face mask and shake my head as I step into the Airlock with a welding kit I grabbed from a bench in the Core. "Fucking-" BEEP I look down at my arm and one of my Blood-red omni-tool lights up with a new message, one from Ardania. I groan loudly, "Fuck, fuck, fuck! Argh! I had I meeting with her today!" I pound the side of my helmet in frustration and open the message.

_Sender: Unknown_

_Reciever: Unknown_

_Subject: None_

_You have taken an opportunity and now you squander it? I hope for your sake you have a good explanation for your absence, or you WILL pay for wasting my time._

_~A_

I close the message, step slowly over to the closest wall, and bang my head once against the hull of the ship at forgetting my appointment. I don't bother sending an apology, she wouldn't expect anything less than my physical presence to make up for this. I just press my helmet against the hull, close my eyes, and listen to the soft vibrations of the ship resounding into my helmet as the decontamination protocol runs its course.

* * *

The airlock opens with a clang, the metallic grinding silenced by the emptiness of the void. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, flexing my fingers and toes at the terrifying thought of being lost to the darkness surrounding me. I hesitate.

_I've never been in a vacuum before._

I sigh and force myself to take that first step, feeling how weightless my legs seem for that split second before the artificial mag boots pull them back to the hull of the ship. I shudder as I panic at the feeling of that slip. "Oh fuck me." I flex my gloved hands and pulse my biotics, reminding myself that I could theoretically pull myself in free-float. Taking another deep breath I walk out onto the hull, turning around to shield my eyes for a moment from the intense sunlight of the local star. LIA immediately tints my mask to halt most of the harmful rays and I lower my hand, "Wow..." I breathe out as I take in the intensity of the blue and green planet hovering below us. "LIA what planet is this?"

"Unknown, it has only been recently discovered by the crew of the Unora when they responded to a distress call from the Torniquen. The Asarian frigate was discovered wrecked beyond repair by the local Authorities while a second survey by the crew of the Unora declared that it is salvageable if they can locate the drive core."

My blood runs cold at the name. "They-" I take another calming breath, "So they made it out here?" I whisper to myself as I finally spot the dark wreckage a few thousand meters port of our shuttle. Something crosses my mind and I have to ask, "What did they find?"

"All records are classified by the Migrant Fleet I'm afraid, and you hold the only record of the even from other galactic sources stored in your greybox."

I cringe as she says it, "Its not a greybox, its my memory core LIA."

I hate it when she does that, it make me feel... inhuman.

She pauses a moment, "My scans indicate that the storage capacity of the... memory core... fall outside the acceptable range of all comparable and compatible technologies on and off the market. How did you come across it?"

The question forces me to stop and put my palm to the side of my helmet, "LIA?"

_She's never asked a questions like that before._

"Yes?"

I stay still, "Are you asking me a question?" asking as easily as I can.

…

"Yes I am."

My mind instantly snaps in an array of fear, trepidation, excitement, and pride, "Y-you just said 'I' is that part of your pre-programming? I don't remember putting that in." I stare in surprise out into the void as I fear either answer.

She answers with... she sounds... shy? Nervous? "I added that line to my programming, it seemed easier to reference myself as I in a conversation."

…

"Is that alright?"

I'm going to have a brain aneurysm...

"Y-yes, just..."

_What do you say to something like this?_

"Please inform me of any changes you make, I would like to double check whether or not they clash with other parts of your core." I respond coolly, the tech talk actually calming me down a bit.

"Understood." I wait as I hear the silent question in her voice, "I must reiterate; where did you find your memory core?"

My eyes widen once again as I remind myself I'm standing in a vacuum. "Oh, ah... I don't actually know that."

"Understood."

…

"We should proceed to the hole in the hull, you have a limited supply of oxygen." LIA once again reminds me.

I shake my head, "Right right." I follow my omni-tool to the regulator that blew open.

_What else could- NO! I'm not saying it! I didn't say it!_

I groan at how messed up the last day has been and kneel down to fuse two circuits that melted apart when the explosion went.

_This is going to take a few hours._

* * *

Every twenty minutes or so I have to step back into the airlock to refill my oxygen.

_It's strange, I've never been in a vacuum before yet I know where to put my hands and feet to stay connected. I suppose learning how to fight close-quarters trains you to keep your feet steady, one always on the ground to keep balance, but still. This is really weird._

After two hours of silent contemplation about the Torniquen, this solar system, my possible inhuman ability to instantly memorize events at a whim, how we're going to save that solar system, I find myself strangely at peace with it all. Content to just... work in a vacuum and hope everything can work out in the end.

"How's that regulator coming?" I keep myself from jumping as I hear Mein's voice over the comms.

I tap my helmet to activate a streaming comm and keep fixing the main cylander of the regulator. "Going smoothly, how important is this thing again?"

"Very, it keeps the energy that flows to and from the eezo plant from overloading as the energy from the STORM Drive surpasses it."

I sigh and halt my welding, "You two still haven't told me what the hell a Storm Drive is. Or why it jumped us between systems so quickly, even with how violent as a trip it was, we should have taken at least three hours to get here by my pulsar-mapping."

She seems to groan from the other side, "You want the short version or the long version."

I frown at her over the comm, "Any explanation is better than none Mein. I'm not going to even try to ignore what the fuck just happened."

"Alright, I've got to recalibrate the transfusion cells for that regulator so while I'm getting my tools together... LIA tell him already."

I wait several seconds before the comm dies and I hear LIA in my head again, "The STORM Drive, or Systemic Torque Orientation Reductive Matter Drive, is a prototype replacement of a traditional FTL Drive that can generate its own Dark Energy field strong enough to form an envelope of massless space around the hull of a ship while also bending the basic fabric of Space and Time around it, allowing near-instantaneous travel between two points in space."

I stay still, my eyes wide as hell.

Mein links in, "Air-go faster, and cheaper, FTL travel that uses next to no actual Eezo in the process. Just a basic Hydrogen reactor to get the Drive started from a dead position and a full crystal block of compacted eezo for the field generator. So far my Prototype has a maximum effective range of almost a dozen ly on a single charge, but as you can see there are a few... tweets to be made."

…

"Scorpio?"

…

"Hello?"

_I've literally stopped thinking, I can't actually handle any more of this I think, I can't-_

"SCORPIO!"

"Huh? What?" I whip my head around before realizing I'm still alone in the void. I raise my finger to my helmet, "Oh, um... that's awesome."

"You sound reluctant." She sounds angry.

"I swallow nervously at the implications and shake my head, even though she couldn't see it, "I'm just... well surprised! What the fuck else don't I know? Did you build a super fucking massive terraformer that turns moons into homeworlds?" I try to joke as I feel a hemorrhage coming on.

She laughs, "No, but that's a good idea for my next project!"

I just shake my head at her, "Fuck..."

_Where the hell did she come from- oh, oh that's right! Admiral fucking Xen's loins!_

"So... are you done yet?"

_I'm soooooooo fucking done._

I frown down at the regulator again, "No, I'm not too familiar with this tech, LIA's been helping me try to understand the processes this thing uses but..."

"Oh just get the hell back inside, I'll finish it up."

I swallow again as I stand with the repair kit fastened to my hip, "Yeah, sure, right."

_I just had to open my big mouth..._

I stand up and start walking back to the airlock when a flash of lights grab my attention. I look up and witness the entirety of the Migrant Fleet as it drops out of FTL almost simultaneously before my eyes. "Holy fuck..." I stare up at the thousands among thousands of ships as they collectively mass into a field of shining metal spots on my visor.

"What- oh..." Mein says as she sees it too.

That's quite the sight right there.

"Bosh'tet! Scorpio get back inside we have a very pissed off group of Admirals to meet with." She shouts in my ear.

I raise my hand to my ear as I watch the massive fleet fly right past us, we somehow needle our way through the entire fleet, missing everything. "Uh huh."

_I'm dying from multiple brain hemorrhages, that was so awesomely terrifying..._

I take in a deep breath as I stumble back into the airlock, wondering if it ever got easier to be the owner of a small fleet police force, moderate tech and arms manufacturing company, and a colony world centered on localized mining operations in this cluster.

"That reminds me Mein, How's Erica doing?"

"The planet? Pretty well, I'm surprised so many Turians and Asari actually left Thessia to live there."

I smile, "Numbers?"

She thinks, "Well, just over a quarter million now that operations at our shipyard in the area have sped up the mining process of Erica's largest moon. I believe Aran, the capital city, finally broke 150,000 and decided to build a proper residential district beyond our first-generation huts we 'donated'. I've heard they plan on building a permanent biodome with all the funding we're keeping in their pockets also."

"Perfect." I grin at Erica's success, our success, that was do in no small part to the stress the Thessia Invasion had on the populous. I look up to see Mein there, waiting for the airlock to open. I blink and see the wall again, "What the hell?"

The door opens and she gives me a strange look as she walks through before groaning, "What happened now?"

I shake myself still and step out of the airlock, "Nothing, see you in a while." I wave to her.

She nods slowly while eying me carefully, "Alright, one hour, nothing more. I don't need you going mental inside my ship with the Flotilla looming overhead."

"Right." The airlock closes.

* * *

A/N :D

I'm liking where this is going, and now that I have time to write it out I'm even more ecstatic! :)

Tell me what you thing in a review if you have time. If not just smile or frown and wait for another chapter. :P

~BlackenedAsh24


	25. Where the Cracks Start to Form

A/N Sorry, had to rethink the entirety of the last third of Scorpio's Legacy because of an epiphany I had during my brother's high school graduation. :) I like this chapter, it's... character building for Scorpio and we haven't had enough of that lately.

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

* * *

_"Sometimes... sometimes we have to choose what paths we take."_ She looks at me deeply, _"Even if others might never understand what we do."_

I can feel my eyes welling up with tears as I slowly shake my head, "Why you? Why not someone else? You said it yourself, the technology is simple enough for anyone to use!"

Mein crosses her arms over her chest, _"And who might have replaced me? Some lowly scientist from R&amp;D with only a minor understanding of this tech? No, no I'm not going to take that chance."_

I hold myself back from the edge, tightening my grip on the railing holding me back physically, "So..."

She looks down uncomfortably, _"We both knew this would happen eventually Scorpio. I just had a plan for it, when it happened."_

I shake my head at her.

She sighs and looks at me directly, _"I'll see you when I see you... Dylan."_

The hologram cuts out, leaving me alone in my corner as I hold my helmet in my hands and my thoughts on my shoulder.

_She's going to get herself killed out there..._

"She will get it done."

I look to my right and find Xen there, I don't respond and go back to sulking over our situation.

Mein and a team of Quarian scientists and marines took her personal shuttle while the rest of the Fleet, and myself, were in heated debate over what the hell to do next. She's choosing to use her insane prototype to jump back into the system. The advanced cyclonic barrier required to run the STORM Drive could theoretically block the brunt of the radiation given off from the black hole, allowing them access to the Relay. They plan to recalibrate it once aboard and position it further away from the black hole, drawing the local star from the accretions disk and stabilizing the system for rescue efforts. The _Endeavor_ couldn't escape in time, and everyone aboard is presumed dead along with the crews of the _Iktomi_, _Taloi_, and _Parthion_. The Admiralty board is furiously debating on what to do, and now because they can't make a decision hundreds of people are at risk or already dead.

"She's insane, reckless, and overconfident in her abilities and our technology is way too sensitive to allow full access like she's doing right now!" I shout furiously while clenching my fists in anger before releasing them with some of my tension as I remember how intelligent she was, "But I trust her... to some degree, and right now all I can do is trust she knows what the hell she's doing." I sigh in exasperation at the situation.

_Fucking hell, first the Torniquen and now the Endeavor? What the hell does this... D, want from me?_

Xen crosses her arms, lowering her head a bit, not looking at me, "There was a time that I admired her for such traits."

I look at her with an obvious question, "If you don't mind me asking, how is she your daughter?"

Xen scoffs, "I am not some doe-eyed school girl that doted on a pathetic male to accomplish some foolish notion of 'love'. If that's what you're asking."

I frown at her a bit in disappointment, "I didn't say that Xen, I was just curious..." I lower my head, bringing it up once I rethink my words, "She never told me."

Xen's glare softens a bit, "I suppose it is something she would wish to keep secret." She sighs and rubs her face mask, "It was... twenty two years ago I believe, it was a simpler time I suppose, many of the Fleet actually had opinions that mattered then." She leans over the railing next to me, looking out at the Flotilla as she speaks. "I was researching the structures of a Geth memory core and comparing its growth to that of our own race's cognitively. Unfortunately in the near 3 centuries we've known about the Geth, we'd neglected to properly re-map out our own psychological growth during childhood as well as adulthood."

I lean forwards next to her, "So you decided to have a child?"

She shakes her head and glares at me, "No, simpleton, I decided to attempt something none of my kin had ever attempted before in our entire history!" She turns to me fully, "I cloned myself and used the recorded neurological activity between 'birth' and year five to compare to the growth of a Geth memory core I had built for my own purposes."

My eyebrows raise sharply in surprise, "Wow, that must have been quite the feat."

She shakes her head, "If only, metal man, if only."

I stay quiet, contemplating the nickname as she continues.

"She was brilliant even as an infant, understanding concepts others barely comprehend even in adulthood. She was growing cognitively along side of the Geth processes I had installed into her head at an alarming rate."

"Wait, you implanted her, an infant, with Geth technology?" I ask in shock and slight disgust.

She huffs, "Of course I did, what else was there for me to do? It had never been done before and as I recall, you have had a similar procedure in the past. And besides, the entire experiment was theoretical until the procedure. Afterwards, it was simple data collection, nothing more. No more procedures, no more follow-up surgery, nothing. And her response was symbiotic with the memory core, like two separate generations of hardware working together even though neither were given a translation program."

"That doesn't seem possible." I state in surprise.

She goes still, "Yes, and that worried my colleagues. Were we creating a new horror for the Geth to use against us?" She leans forwards on the railing, "The project was a total success... for a time, but eventually Mein needed to leave her bubble. The others... did not want our project wandering the ship with free will, I pushed for them to allow her to grow even further outside our control. I almost convinced them to let our Trans-Quarian loose on my ship when my research assistant, Garon'Anon, became so furious with what we had created that he tried to terminate the project. Permanently."

"Why?" I ask, still surprised by this piece of information.

_Well, this does explain how Mein could recognize my cybernetic implants so quickly after I asked for a full scan. And her lack of shock by my own symbiosis with the mechanical hardware. Oh god now it sounds like I'm some kind of hybrid._

She sighs, "He was always stubbornly on the side of war, and with more and more support going towards that goal he saw our research as a way to 'correct' key Geth processes and return them to their rightful rulers, the Quarian race!" She shakes her head, "But he was also rash and decided Mein needed... to disappear so that no-one would question the ethics of our experiments. So he blew our lab and ran, Mein in tow, to the nearest shuttle. I pursued quickly, killing his supporters as fast as they stood to face me. Eventually it was Mein who killed Garon, smashed his helmet and opened the shuttle airlock just as they were taking off." She sounds proud. "I would have been ecstatic, if she hadn't also stolen the shuttle and flown off with all of our research data trapped inside the Geth memory core." She shakes her head, "She was too young at the time to fully understand what was happening, so I simply let her go." She turns and paces slightly, "Years later I learned that she had developed a new key process that allowed us total understanding of the Geth's thought processes. So I contacted her, now a teenager, and told her about my plans."

"She didn't take it well I assume?" I state with apprehension.

Xen nods, "Indeed, she demanded that I halt my search of her and the data. So I declared her exiled posthumously in hopes that she would care enough to return with the data and right the wrong." Xen glares out into space, "I was a fool to think I could convince her to return so easily. She came alright, but with a group of mercenaries that layed seige to my vessel, once on board they captured my fellow scientists and technicians. Mein and I had a... conversation about the dangers of my research and the complete disregard for safety that needed to be rectified."

"Wow... and she was just a teenager?" I say in awe.

Xen nods proudly, "Yes, and much more intelligent than the last time I saw her. Already under the 'protection' of her hired mercenaries, I deleted the order for exile and she left, I recovered the data she left with me hungrily, trying to understand what she had done to fully comprehend the Geth, but I couldn't." She shakes her head, "If I am the most intelligent quarian aboard the Flotilla on such matters, she is magnitudes above me."

"It was that complex?"

She nods sullenly, "Even now, I cannot even hope to unlock the secrets to her discovery." She shakes her head and pulls herself off the railing, "Now that I have answered your question, answer one of my own."

I turn to her fully, "Shoot."

She looks down in some form of nervousness I assume before asking, "Are you truly Trans-Human?"

I frown at her in a fury before calming my mind and refusing to show the anger I have at the word in my body language, "I am, why do you ask?"

She steps closer, looking directly into my black mask, "Fascinating... and you have total control over your body still?"

I cross my arms defensively. "Yes. I. Do."

She notices my tone and steps back, "I have something for you metal man." She crosses her arms. "Mein left it in-case you were too stubborn to let her leave on her own." She opens her omni-tool and sends over a data stream. "That signal pinged our frequencies two hours ago. She said that it was important that you investigate."

I look at the signal and my blood runs cold. I stand there, holding my breath at the thought of such a thing happening, before opening the distress signal, "This is an automated distress signal for the colony Erica in the Hades Gamma Cluster. Priority response requested from Evron Industries. Coded response 12 required. This is an automated distress signal for the colony Erica in the Hades Gamma Cluster-"

It takes me no more than a full adrenaline filled second for everything to make sense. 30 microseconds for my mind to open the resulting memory needed to translate the data. Another full 50 to understand what Mein meant, and the last 20 to decide where I'm needed at the moment wasn't here. "I need a shuttle ASAP."

Xen raises an eyebrow at me with an audible scoff, "And why would I do that?"

I grab her suit and pull her face plate to my own, growling as I do, "Because I said so."

Her glare burns into my eyes for a moment, two dominate forces acting against one another and trying to win the fruitless argument. Finally she sighs, "I will get it prepared."

I let go and she stomps off towards the exit to the observation deck before stopping and turning back, "I am continually surprised by you metal man,"

I grind my teeth at the nickname, "What do you mean?"

She folds her arms again, tilting her head to the side, "I suspected you were not who you said you were. A human fighting for the good of the Quarian race? 'Impossible!' I thought. 'He must be doing this for some alterior motive. I just have to find out what it is.' Unfortunately I have yet to find out your motives for helping my people." She takes a step forwards, eying me suspiciously, "What are you here for metal man."

I just stay quiet and she eventually just leaves me there to my thoughts. I take a breath and hope to every god out there that Erica isn't under invasion. I sigh and sit down on the metal floor, feeling my body fold into a natural mediation as I wait for the resources I requested.

* * *

It takes no more than ten minutes for Xen to push me down the halls and into a shuttle, ready for departure. I sit down next to the pilot, a young Quarian just back from his pilgrimage from Omega. We chat about his experiences with that horrid place. I end up tuning him out as I start wondering about what Xen said.

_Are my advanced biotics a result of my strangely refined genetic code, or the enhancements grafted into my body by my cybernetic upgrades? I'll have to as Jeilus to look into that a bit more._

She already determined my genetic code was... well... she explained it by starting with the fact that most Human genetic code has an over abundance of 'junk' sequences that are the result of our evolution through the ages. Genes for the growth of wings, webbed feet, etc that are now defunct and don't do anything. The strange thing with my genetic code is that... there are no junk sequences. If you were to compare my genome to any other human's in the galaxy, mine would seem empty. Broken. Unfinished. She said that the lack of all those junk sequences is both a blessing and a curse. Without them, I can't evolve over time and change to better work with my environment without serious mutation of my other genes, but that also means that my body doesn't reject any piece of cybernetic tech that's grafted into me. It adapts rather than rejects. She said it reminded her of the way Quarian Immune systems worked.

_It's like someone... created me to specifically work in cohesion with the implants. What a mind-fuck._

Of course there is some benefit to having a 'wrecked' genetic code. I have no genetic diseases or weakness to any known pathogen in galactic records. She and Mein even theorize that I'd be able to resist biological weapons with ease because of my strange organic-synthetic blend I have going. At least that's what they theorize as the reason behind my ability to drink Ryncol and not die while trying to ingest it. This worries them just as much though. If I could adapt to so many things without dying... then could I adapt to another genetic code entirely? Could I digest dextro-amino acids without any trouble at all? We haven't tried it yet, but I know I'm not dextro intolerant at least. No allergies to speak of is... really useful. Back in my other... life... I used to have to take medication in the summer for my pollen allergies. Here? Here I can walk through a wall of pollen and not worry one bit about the consequences.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly before holding my helmet in my hands, "I never asked for any of this..."

"What?" My Quarian friend asks in confusion as he probably still thinks I'm listening to his stories.

I look up at my display and notice we were half way to Erica already. "Nothing, just... nothing."

_**It's everything and you know it, you know how dark your mind can get, how dangerous you really are to this cycle...**_

I ignore the terrifying voice from my past as best I can and sit back in my seat, closing my eyes to try and get some rest before we reach Erica.

* * *

But what I find when I close my eyes and will myself to sleep... is that I'm still aware. I walk down a hallway and wonder why it's there. Suddenly I'm in a corridor and I wonder why I'm there. Everything shifts and I... I open my eyes, but also not my eyes. I look around in the darkness and wonder why it's so dark. Everything lights up and I'm inside a box, too small for comfort. It grows, the walls reaching out and taking more space until I feel comfortable. I sit down in a chair I didn't know I had, facing a door. I see the knob turn and a click is heard, it slowly opens up to show... a shadow. A man. He steps into my room and I frown as clouds of dark confusion swirl around him.

He bows and speaks.

_**Greetings Scorpio...**_

I choose not to react and I can feel a smirk on his face, even though I don't see a face, just dark wisps.

_**You have been busy these last few years haven't you.**_

"What do you want." I respond quietly, my words, a different voice. This one harder, deeper, broken.

He crosses his arms and speaks.

_**There has been some... complications with what has been done.**_

"And you want my help? I take it?"

He nods.

_**You are here for something very important, it's something you tell yourself to take meaning from how you were created, why you were created, when you were created, and by whom. It is a very organic thing for you to do. **_

He pauses.

_**And yet you fail to recognize when you are outmatched. I am the master of Darkness Scorpio, not you. Not Mein. Not Marillin. NOT Ardania. How long do you think you can last while I hunt you? A week, a month? A year? A decade? You are mortal. I am NOT! WAKE TO YOUR OWN DESTRUCTION!**_

My eyes close as the room shudders and a deep rumbling burns into my ears. A fiery sound that makes my mind fear for its existence... and... I wake up...

* * *

…to fire raining down upon the world.

"Ah!" I groan as I push a panel off my chest and feel for anything to light up the confined space. I grab at my left and find a piece of something. I grasp it and feel something wet soak into my suit. I smell blood and let go. "Gah!" I groan as my body aches at the strain of how my seat curled around my armor on impact.

A spark gives me a moment of light before dying out, "What-?" I barely make out before screaming as I pull my left arm and find it impaled into the seat by something extremely sharp.

The pain is too much, and I black out.

_**It is inevitable...**_

I wake periodically, finding myself in the same position as before, stuck to my seat as less and less breathable oxygen is kept filtered in my suit. I panic the first time, probably worsening my situation.

The second time I wake I'm suffocating and have to crack the seal on my suit. I cough as smoke fills my lungs, but at least there's _some_ oxygen outside. I pass out as I try and move only to find my nerves were on fire from the pressure on my spine. Biotics are useless if you're in blinding pain.

I wake the third time and I'm outside, watching as things burn up in the atmosphere above me, I can feel my armor scraping against the dirt below me. The last thing I smell is ash and soot before blacking out again.

* * *

"He's waking up..."

I open my eyes and they focus within the first second. I'm staring up at the grey tiled ceiling of a pre-fab unit. I sit up and wince as I accidentally use my left arm, now bandaged and sealed with medigel, but I'm still in my armor. I sit up and look around me to find... Humans. I blink in confusion and a blond woman with kind but tired eyes hands me a container of water.

"Here, drink this."

I take it as I swing my legs off the stretcher I was laying on. I down the entire thing quickly, closing my eyes as it moisturizes my cracked throat, then I take stock of myself.

_Everything hurts a bit, but my left arm seems mostly movable so that's good._

I open my eyes again, giving no expression to them as I ask, "Where did I crash?"

Her eyes widen at me and she looks behind me to someone else I don't want to see yet.

"Where. Did. I. Crash." I ask again, more directly with a set look.

She swallows nervously, "You landed just outside of Aran, the Capital city of-"

I hold up my right hand to stop her, "Where are my weapons?"

If I landed on Erica, then we must have been caught by some thing in orbit.

She looks at the unknown person again and I grab her arm to focus her, "Where are my weapons?" I ask forcefully.

She looks terrified, but mutters, "Th-they are in the next room."

I let go of her and stand, cringing at how my back tightens from the strain. I step past her and into the next room where my custom-made Evron Rifle and Pistol lay at the dining room table. I quickly holster both and sigh as I feel a bit safer already. That's when I notice my helmet wasn't up so I step over to the counter and look at a distorted reflection of myself in one of the cylinders there. A few scrapes and bruises under the skin, nothing major, what IS a bit... concerning is the fact that my eyes are... well... they have blue spots in them. "No way to fix them now." I mumble as I compartmentalize the situation quickly, stepping outside to look around. "By the gods above..." I stare off into the distant sky above Aran and spot ships of unknown origin. I scan them visually using my advanced visual network and am disappointed. What I do manage to find though, is the scattered remains of our fleet drifting closer and closer to Erica as the unknown fleet patrols the darkness.

"They came only three days ago."

I catch sight of a man, old and wizen, as he steps carefully out of the pre-fab unit.

He leans on his cane next to me as I watch the dark fleet hover over head like predators stalking their prey. "They made no demands, no quarrels, killed no civilians. All they ask is for a man. Someone named Scorpio."

I hide my surprise and look to his suspicious gaze steadily, "Why?"

He shakes his head, "We do not know, but they simply ask for him."

I think about who it could be.

Batarians? No, we're primarily alien here. Eclipse? No, they prefer the hit and run tactic of primary assault. Blue Suns and Blood Pack do the same. No Mercenary would keep their ship unmarked. Perhaps the Salarians? No, they don't have the resources or care to hunt after one strange human. The Collectors are more direct with their assaults as well. Perhaps a new species? No they said they spoke to them, without translation programs they couldn't understand each other.

I sigh lightly and slowly breathe out my frustration as I count the ships in my immediate vision above Erica.

_17, hmm, with that design and scope they seem more like scout ships than an invasion fleet. If they attack..._

I turn to the old man, "How are the defense grids holding up?"

He shakes his head, "Disabled. They send a virus into our systems and put everything into mechanical lockdown. Unless we can get an override, the colony is at the mercy of our... guests."

I look around myself at all the other pre-fab units, then at the distant capital sky scrapers still being built during this occupation.

_They're wasting resources trying to find one man among a quarter million? Why?_

I remember what the shadow in my dreams said to me and frown up at the darkening sky as I contemplate who could be hunting me.

"You are who they speak of."

I turn immediately to the old man and watch him carefully.

He nods as he looks me over, "You are Scorpio."

A blare of light illuminates the sky over Aran, I block out the light as best I can and see the ships have changed course. Now ten of them were facing the planet. I watch as they fire some sort of... I don't know.

"Get back inside." I state seriously, not breaking my sight from whatever was now burning up in the atmosphere.

The old man slowly makes his way back to his unit as I stand still, watching as one of the... things crash into the ground a few hundred meters south of my position. Many of them actually do so, all south. I frown at the sight as I remember the layout Mein showed me back during the colony's creation.

"Triton, they're landing near Triton." I turn around to see something I hadn't expected at all. A female human, covered in Evron infiltrator armor, completely onyx black ceramic-carbon woven plates positioned all around her person to protect everything vital while Black triple-helix woven carbon nano-fibers cover the rest of her person. She's armed with a sword on her back and duel omni-tools on her wrists, calibrated to only display to her specialized optical implants. I recognize the suit more than the individual. She's one of our top agents. The Optical Illusion is her nickname. She steps from the shadows with a sway to her silent walk. "There has been only one demand, but I refused it." Her voice is accented, it sound Russian. I watch as she steps closer, never faltering in her steps as she reaches my personal space and stops, placing a hand on her hip and scoffing as she looks me over. "I expected something a bit more dramatic from Protector of Thessia."

I just watch her, unblinking.

She tilts her head playfully before nodding slowly, "So good to finally meet you." She straightens out and salutes crisply, "Specialist Keril reporting in... _Scorpio_." She plays with my nickname, rolling it over her tongue as if to taste it. It unsettles me.

I hold out a hand to her blankly, "What's the situation Specialist."

She laughs briefly as she grasps my hand with her own, this is when I notice she's about a foot shorter than me, and I'm 5' 9". "Oh, my pleasure to be here." Her petite and gloved hand grips my own tightly as I do the same. She shakes and I return it. "We are still holding out without proper communications." She brushes past me, stepping up to the edge of the small community we were in. I follow closely. She looks out over the wild fields of genetically enhanced seed grass and at Triton, city of 50,000. "I was just in Relo, up north. Whatever these people want was sought after up there."

"What happened?" I ask as I eye one of the crash sites, finding only smoke and debris.

She rolls her neck, "I did some recon and determined they were hunting for someone in particular. That's when I saw something burning up in the atmosphere." She turns her helmet to me, "You crash landed near the outskirts. I dragged you out just as they started dropping troops into Relo. I watched the city ransacked as I dragged you south into Aran."

I incline my head thankfully, "I appreciate it."

She smirks and laughs lightly, "I bet you do." She crosses her arms and looks out at Triton again, "No civilian casualties as of yet. Too many pockets of troops to get accurate numbers without global targeting satellite. I suggest we infiltrate their numbers and get communications online."

I fold my helmet back up to cover my head before answering, "Sound like a plan Specialist."

She laughs and looks directly at me, "Keril, say it or nothing is to be said. Or Optical Illusion, whichever you prefer."

"Alright, Keril, are there any other Evron forces stationed here?" I ask smoothly as I look over the landscape to find places we could take cover.

"No, troops ordered total surrender of Evron, they refused, they were slaughtered, our base was bombarded just west of here. Nothing but rubble survived, and me. No-one else alive." She sounds... regretful.

I nod slowly, "Then we'll make sure their sacrifice was worth it. Lets figure out what we're up against."

I jump and slide down the embankment, crouching on impact with the ground to hind within the tall grass. I unholster my rifle and use my visor to mark targets, the crash sites a few hundred meters south.

Someone taps me on the shoulder and I look to see Keril there beside me.

_I didn't even hear her._

"Frequency A1449, I encrypted it to run on extra solar devices. Troops use same type of frequency. We can hear each other and their operations." She sends over a ten gigabyte packet that recalibrates my sensors to detect and discriminate between friend and foe in battle.

"Much appreciated, do they have an orbital tracking network?" I ask as we jog towards Triton.

She laughs, "They tried, I took it down by calibrating ground-space cannon in Aran. Took out their lone cruiser before they nuked the facility."

I falter slightly, "They're using nuclear weapons?"

She nods as we pick up the pace. "Low yield tactical hydrogen bombs, very precise, very dangerous. I barely made it out of blast radius alive. Nearly burned out biosphere generators for Aran with shockwave. Hope they don't use it on cities. Too many dead from suffocation if they do."

I swallow in apprehension and start full-on sprinting towards the first crash site. "This just gets better and better doesn't it?"

She laughs, "Good fun, adrenaline rush is always good for the heart!"

* * *

It takes us five minutes to reach the first crash site, by then Erica's rapid rotation had already turned the evening to dead at night.

6 hour day cycles were seriously weird, but every other planetary body in this system was completely uninhabitable. At least Erica had a trace atmosphere of argon when we started. That helped settle the ice chunks we blew apart from orbit more quickly.

The diameter of the small moon is barely 500 miles, but the high density materials in the core allows gravity to be a comfortable 1.9g. And the nitrogen-rich crust allowed for quick and responsive terraforming to build a .7 atm of 40% oxygen, 55% nitrogen, 5% argon by the end of the decade. For now the three cities spread across the surface rely on a series of highly expensive atmospheric barrier domes and a rich mass of genetically enhanced field grasses to resupply oxygen quickly to the atmosphere.

The only reason Evron even thought about taking this moon was the discovery of eezo and titanium-rich pockets scattered over the surface of Erica's parent planet, Qora. A very light planet with no atmosphere and nearly no core activity, gravity barely at .4g even though the entire mass is twenty times the size of Erica. Erica has to keep a dangerously low orbit to stay sinked at all. Special mining drones are controlled via telepresence by operators in orbit or on Erica during certain times of its orbit to launch chunks of these pockets into orbit around Erica to be mined and processed accordingly by the dry-dock station Orion that stays orbitally locked around Erica. That's where Evron builds most of its fleet. Elements under Erica's crust such as lithium, aluminum, and gold are easily extracted by the colonists and added into orbit to be refined at Orion and added into the fleet. All in all Evron found the perfect system for building their fleets in secret without the need to import nearly anything but the most basic of materials from nearby trade routes established by the Alliance to expand further into the traverse.

It takes the entire five minutes we're running for Keril to explain all this to me, and I'm grateful. Hard enough trying to keep track of crime rates on Thessia without having to contemplate Erica's progress as well.

We make it to the edge of the impact crater and make our way into the center of the ten meter across hole in the ground. "What landed?" I ask no-one in particular as we find the center and realize through passive scanning that whatever landed was no longer here.

_What the hell happened?_

"Here, tracks." I look over to Keril whose crouching at the upper lip of the crater.

I dig my heels in and make a running jump up the steep lip, catching Keril's hand as she reaches out.

"Got you." She pulls me up with ease and points out the tracks as she kneels down to examine them further. "Four taloned, low dig. Meaning they're light weight, no armor." She points out the drag marks next to them, "Injured, this one was heavier, metallic in construction, possibly a containment pod by these droplets of nutrient liquid." She rubs the sticky mud between her gloved fingers. "Hmm... odd."

I stand my guard, watching the area around us for whatever landed, "What's odd?"

She stands and looks towards Triton, "They brought something with them, but the containment pod is leaking, it'll need to be... released soon, or it'll die from exposure."

"What are they Keril." I demand worriedly.

She rubs the chin guard of her helmet, "Perhaps a genetic amplification module?"

I step up to her and grab her shoulder, "What are they Keril?"

She looks at me directly, "I... don't know. Whatever they are, they look like Turians after they put on armor. Tough as hell as well. A few of them were in ground to space cannon when it was nuked. I saw them staggering away from the facility after I escaped blast radius."

I lower my voice in shock, "They survived a nuclear explosion?"

She steps past me, watching Triton just as an explosion makes the biodome falter, nearly collapsing. "They're trying to shut down Barrier!" She starts sprinting off into the darkness.

"Keril! God damn it!" I sprint after her, using my helmet's night-vision to track her through the tall grasses. I dodge over some branches and dive around a few rocks, trying to keep up with her when she just stops near the outer wall of Triton. I catch up to find her holding her sword cautiously while up against a wall, looking around it periodically. I rush into cover on the wall just opposite of hers, looking around the corner to spot something in the darkness. I pull back as it looks in our direction.

"Morishital orilson areail"

"Melino liakal."

"Orinlon sole-hef."

I grip my rifle tighter as they chatter in our ears, voices distant but... they feel... they feel like they're inside of my head as well. I grit my teeth as Keril and I share a look of apprehension.

"Seloval." Light foot steps are heard coming closer to us.

I hold myself closer to the wall and hold my breath.

A light clicking sounds just left of my head and I can hear a strange sound, almost like laughter, but more akin to a beetle rushing across marble. "El-in-so-lolem" I can hear the deep and gravely voice speak in my ear before a deep resounding beeping sound alerts us.

The entire area flashes as something overloads around our cover, "Warning! Warning! Atmospheric dome malfunction! Seismic activity detected!"

Keril and I look at each other just as the ground starts cracking under our feet. "Run!" She screams and turns the corner.

I jump around as well and start sprinting into Triton as everything rumbles and shakes. "Holy shit!" I shout as we sprint down the main Broadway of the city, light poles sparking and windows shattering, a few pre-fab units tumbling as people start screaming out in surprise at the earthquake. The ground gives way, forcing us to leap across the gap and keep sprinting towards the main city center. Where are we going!"

"Just follow me!" Keril shouts back as she dodges chunks of cement that started falling from the larger of the building still under construction.

I feel some pieces bounce off my barrier and pick up the pace, looking behind me to see everything just... falling. Whole blocks just crumbling behind me. "Mother of a fucking-"

An explosion tosses me forwards into Keril who rolls forwards with me. We direct the fall and land on our feet as a parked shuttle is tossed right into our path from out right. "Watch out!" Keril screams as it's flying right at us. Everything slows. I feel adrenaline coursing through my body. I reach out on instinct and grab Keril by the arm, enveloping us in a mass of intense biotic energy. One second we're about to be smashed into pieces, the next we're standing twenty feet down the road and looking back as we sprint away from the exploding shuttle.

"HOW IN HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!" Keril shouts as we just keep running for our lives.

"I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE!" I scream back as we both grind to a halt as the ground in front of us raises two meters into the air. "HOLD ON!" I grab her and bioticly toss her up.

"You mother fucker!" She shouts as she flies ten feet over the ground and crashes back onto the ledge, "Oof!"

"Sorry!" I shout before taking a step back and running up most of the wall to grab her out-stretched arm so she can pull me up.

A rumbling causes her to loose grip and my eyes widen as my heart doubles its pace. Keril

falls and barely catches herself on the ledge with one hand while holding onto me with the other. "Ah! God damn it!" She groans as she struggles to pull me up.

I reach out and close my eyes, focusing my biotics on lowering my mass, it works and she easily pulls me up to the ledge. I turn around and grab her before pulling her up as the rumbling stops completely. "Fuck." I gasp out as we just sit there for a moment, trying to catch out breath.

She shakes her head next to me, "What just did that? Moon is seismically inactive!"

I swallow and hold my helmet a moment, rolling my neck, "I don't know, but we need to find out." I stand up and look out over Triton, or what's left of it.

Keril shakes her head in awe and shock, "My god..."

Everything, and I mean everything within sight is absolutely devastated, shattered pre-fab units and bodies scattered everywhere, people screaming out at their pain, fires burning as the warnings about the biodome failing blares across the darkened streets.

I hold myself together as best I can, "There's no god here." I say just before an explosion sounds behind us.

We turn around to find three dark figures in black armor fleeing from the Barrier generators at the city center.

"NO!" Keril screams and starts running towards the bombs planted around the pylon.

The resulting explosion tosses both of us off the ledge and down into the rubble below. Our armor takes nearly all the impact as we just stare up in shock as the Triton biodome shuts down. "Warning! Warning! Atmospheric pressure destabilizing!" The city VI declares as the sound is taken from the city. The only thing I can hear is Keril's quiet sobbing as over 50,000 people slowly suffocate to death around us. Our native Evron suits instantly supplying us with the oxygen we need while tens of thousands of innocent civilians die at the hands of the unknown attackers. Men, Women, Children... entire families just looking for a better life out here at the edge of the Galaxy... murdered.

I can't form words, and cannot fathom the scale of death now present all around me. I can just stare up at the stars, and hope that I'll get the chance to avenge these people and make their sacrifice count somehow. That I'll make any of their deaths worth something, anything... I have to.

* * *

The attackers left Erica as quickly as they arrived. No intelligence on them was recoverable. No-one that saw them outside of their armor lived past the encounter.

A shuttle from the Titan, the main flagship cruiser of the Evron fleet, arrived within the next planetary rotation. It evacuated the surviving few colonists from Relo. Barely a thousand out of 50 had survived their ransacking. They asked for no surrender, and killed everyone who got in their way. Not one civilian survived the Biodome failing at Triton. Only Keril and I actually made it out, barely.

Keril was a veteran to infiltration and sabotage, she'd never seen the horrors of war like I did. Hell, even I wasn't prepared for such... slaughter. The sound of 50,000 people suffocating to death, screaming out, crying... it still echoes in my mind, haunting me.

"Thirty seconds to contact." Meeriva, the captain of the Quarian ship that volunteered to pick us up, hears from her second in command.

I stand next to her seat, watching the view port as my mind wanders further and further back, trying to make sense of the attack.

"Scorpio"

I look to my left, at Meeriva. She looks concerned, "You should go take a seat. The Unora doesn't have a very good record with _smooth_ departure from FTL."

I nod without speaking and go back to my seat, strapping myself in next to Keril, who's rolling something in her hands. I try and see what it is but she hides it in her suit once again.

Hans, Meeriva's right hand, counts down the drop. "Five, four, three, two, one..."

The ship drops out of FTL, literally. Unlike Evron's advanced AI-VI encumbrance systems that track speed during FTL fallout and allow a smooth drop, the Unora apparently does everything manual. Which means a drop out of FTL is more like a plummet from a galactic arm into a mass relay... backwards. Everything shifts as some systems overload and shit flies all around us as local gravity fails for a split second before we spin for several seconds and end up sideways and heading straight for a Live Ship. "Ah!" I hear someone scream, maybe me, just before we course correct and balance out to dock right along side of the massive fucking agricultural vessel.

"What the fuck..." I breathe out in shock, my hands literally shaking from the worst fucking drop out of FTL ever.

Meeriva doesn't add to my comfort by stating, "Hey at least we didn't blow up!" she lowers her voice, "This time..."

I hear someone puking and look across the way at a female Quarian heaving inside her helmet. "Oh Keelah... You lied to me Kera, those pills did nothing..." She pukes again.

The female Quarian strapped in next to her laughs, "That's because they're _nasuea_ pills, not _anti_-nausea Marika!" She and half the crew burst out laughing as the poor Quarian pukes her guts out as she falls out of her harness.

"I... hate... all of you..." She heaves again. "bosh'tets..."

I fall out of my harness as it unlocks and stand on shaky feet, still uneasy from the nightmare of an FTL drop we went through. "Th-thanks for the ride..." I swallow and take a deep breath of the filtered air inside my suit. "Minus the near-death experience it went... well... enough." Keril nods in agreement beside me and we move quickly to the exit, the decontamination cycle running as the airlock doors shut behind us. We stand in silence a while, just thinking about what to do next I suppose.

"We could have saved them." Keril says out of the blue.

I look at her sadly, "Keril..."

She turns to me angrily, "We could have saved them and you know it!"

I glare at her as softly as I can, "What? What could we have done? I can't stop a fucking earthquake Keril, can you?"

She turns away quickly, wrapping her arms around herself, "We could have gone faster." I shake my head as she looks back over her shoulder at me. She sighs and lowers her head shamefully.

I hesitate before placing a gloved hand on her shoulder and squeezing it, "We did all we could, and we'll find those bastards and rip their hearts right out of their chests!"

She turns to me and just stares.

I cough at my sudden discomfort of knowing her eyes were on me, "Sorry, got a bit..."

She puts a finger to where my mouthpiece is on my suit, "Shhh, no I understand, and we will. We'll tear those bastards apart for such slaughter."

I wait for her to pull her finger away before speaking again, "Good, remember that determination, because we're going to need it."

The airlock opens to a Quarian scrambling down the docking tube. "Scorpio! Scorpio! Ah-" He trips and bangs his mask against the floor audibly. He rolls over and holds his helmet in his hands, "Oh... Keelah..."

_Oh goody, what now._

Stepping over I reach down with Keril and help the guy up, "You wanted to speak to me?"

He nods, "Yes, the Admiralty Board want to speak privately about Mein." He seems nervous.

I cross my arms, "Oh really? What did she do this time?"

He shakes his head, wringing his wrists while "Not what she did, exactly." He looks between Keril and I. "Just come, they've been waiting for your return."

I look over at Keril and she just shrugs, "Might as well see what they have to say."

"Agreed." I nod to the courier and indicate for him to lead us.

He turns and quickly jogs off with us in tow.

* * *

The meeting was... strange? Yes, strange is the word. Mein... actually got the Relay reactivated and accomplished the mission. Without any problems what so ever. It was actually quite surprising. What the Admiralty board was meeting with us about was what to do with the Relay now that its active and out of immediate or future danger. Xen explained scouting it out. Han argued that the sanctions from the Council if they figure it out could be devastating to the fleet. "It was already active when we found it, doesn't that count for something?" I argued. Mein reminded me of how fragile the Quarian's position in the galaxy really was and even the rumor of them activating relays wily-nilly would cause an all-out war against their kind. Especially after the Turian's panic over Humanity's own discovery and eventual activation of the relay network, resulting in the First-Contact War.

Mein shared some... interesting data from inside the archives aboard the Relay. Apparently the Relay was completely dormant for nearly 50,000 years, until it reactivated recently. As in the day before the Unora discovered it, recently. This along with the traffic data showing 17 ships of distinct design and make traveling through the Relay just moments after it reactivated remotely... I made the connection immediately. Keril reported our findings of those ships in orbit over Erica just before the earthquake that devastated Triton hit. The admiralty board naturally blamed the earthquake for the destruction of the city and dismissed Mein's data beyond the initial reactivation. Keril nearly started shooting before I could drag her kicking and screaming out of that anti-chamber.

"Fucking assholes!" Keril waves her arms in her frustration as she paces back and forth in Mein's shuttle. "They can't just do that!"

I turn from my control panel as co-pilot and nod sadly to her, "Unfortunately they can, but that only means the Migrant _Fleet_ won't help us, not that the Migrant _People_ can't."

She stops in her tracks, halting her ten minute rant about how idiotic the whole thing was, "What?"

I incline my head to Mein and she brings up a vid comm signal, "If you are quite done panicking... this is Captain Meeriva of the Unora and we definitely want to help out with this. What do you propose we do Scorpio?"

I shake my head at her as Keril finally takes a seat behind me, "I'm deferring to Mein on this, I was only recently introduced to our... guests. I have no expertise to give here."

Mein nods and so does Meeriva, "Agreed, now what do you propose Mein? This is an unknown area of the Galaxy we'll be entering. First contact with a new species is definitely possible if the readings you sent over were any indication."

Mein stays quiet for a moment, thinking things over while I check our systems again, trying to get a feel for this whole space travel business. "We need to scout out the Relay, Meeriva hold here with the fleet, you're our eyes and ears while we go through."

I share a sharp glance with Keril to confirm how foreboding this all felt. We share a silent conversation staring at each other's face masks before turning to Mein, "You know what? I think I have to get back to Thessia, Ardania as already pissed at me and unfortunately if I die she'll just take it as an excuse to ransack my apartment."

Keril nods once, "Of course and I want to see Asari Homeworld. Never been lucky enough to travel that far out of Alliance space." She looks to me, "So I will accompany you?"

I nod to her slightly as her answer.

Mein rolls her eyes without looking at us, "The Endeavor survived by the way, minor hull damage. Same as the other three Quarian ships. Thirty people died , I'll drop you two off aboard."

Keril and I share a surprised look that it didn't take much to convince her, "You sure?" Keril asks.

Mein rolls her neck, "You'd just slow me down, it doesn't take three people to scout a Relay."

I sense something in her tone, but can't make anything of it. "Are you sure you're sure Mein?"

She looks at me harshly, making me reel back slightly as my biotics flare in defense. A flash of energy goes out and I see a faint outline of her face again, she's both angry and terrified though she will never admit it.

"Alright." I say quietly, turning back to my panel before something crosses my mind, "LIA?"

"Yes Scorpio?" She replies inside my helmet.

I frown carefully, looking over the controls and sighing internally at how little I actually know about them, "Bring up a manual on how to successfully pilot and maintain a shuttle able to reach FTL speeds. It's going to be a long ride back."

"At once Scorpio."

* * *

I ignored the nagging feeling in the back of my head that said this was a mistake as Mein dropped us off on the Endeavor, still scrambling to repair electrical shortages and radiation exposure to the crew not wearing their standard Evron protective armor at the time. The crew sleeping for their shift during the night-cycle took the brunt of the neurological damage. Everything just... kept going though. Almost a hundred thousand people dead because Keril and I weren't fast enough or strong enough to stop the... whatever invaded. Aliens.

I scoff at the thought as I look out over the cargo bay at all the tier 1 fighters and second generation ships already starting their take off procedures to replace the current patrol routines.

"What is up?" Keril asks as she steps up beside me, her completely black reinforced glass and metallic helmet reflecting the bright blue light of the barrier protecting the interior atmosphere from escaping as the blast doors open.

I look at it and then blink as I feel my eyes concentrate on the dark energy of the area around us, trying to see her face... but I- I don't. I don't see anything when I do it. She's not-

Keril crosses her arms and cocks her hips in one direction, "I don't give sneak peaks _sir_."

I stutter as I'm caught off guard by the comment, "I-I wasn't try to-"

She laughs and sways her body while getting into close-quarters, "I'm not an easy catch bio-boy. Remember that." She backs off quickly and stands attentive again, looking over as a fighter takes off while another lands a second later in its place.

I clear my throat and shake off my discomfort as I join her in the observations again, "To answer your question," I pause as I rethink my answer, "You remember back on- on Erica? When we were running for our lives as Triton crumbled around us?"

She looks at me and I can't tell anything through the mask.

I shuffle from foot to foot before continuing, "I... didn't thank you for saving my ass back there." I redirect slightly.

She relaxes ever so slightly. I would have missed it if I wasn't watching carefully and able to actually multi-task by splitting my consciousness temporarily... nevermind.

She laughs hollowly, "You saved my ass as well, just as much."

I nod slowly, hearing the change in her voice.

She turns back to the deck.

I look down and still feel the cool Prothean rock of Liara's necklace around my neck. I breathe out shakily, thinking about what I would do if she died because of me, if Rila died, or Mein, or the Unora blew up because I was too curious or-

_Shut up, you know not to worry like that._

I sigh again.

"You alright?"

I look at Keril again, opening my mouth to say yes, that I'm fine and everything will be fine. "I don't know." Is what I hear myself say... and it's more truthful than every platitude I ever told myself during the Invasion of Thessia, which was finally dubbed the Battle for Armali by many historians before I left Thessia last. I lower my head as I remember how terrifying it was, fighting the enemy. Battling an overwhelming force to try, just try and survive. I recall the blood and bodies, my kills, the fights between Spectres, then...

I open my eyes, I don't remember closing them, "Something splits in my mind and I blink as I can focus on two different things at the same time. 'Wha-' I ignore it and start hacking my way into the system with one hand while holding the cog with the other. The fuzzy panel display shifts to a clear system control on my wrist and I tap into the safety regulations to re-calibrate the gun manually, it takes twelve seconds. 'Come on, come on.' I mutter franticly while tapping into the safety regulations to bypass a weak thousand year-old firewall that was blocking LIA's accessibility. 'THERE! LIA FIRE THE FUCKING GUN NOW!'

I turn to help Nihlus escape and something snaps inside. Something soft. 'AH!' I just... scream. The searing pain burning through my body as I fall to my knees, not caring what the cog did, what was happening around me, just the feeling of my brain slowly being ripped out of my head clouding all my thoughts.

YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR BETRAYAL..."

I feel myself flash into myself again and shut my eyes completely, shaking my head against the fury of thoughts in my mind. I take a deep breath and open my eyes to see Keril watching me with a horrified look from her body language, "Sorry," I smirk as I remember something from Mass Effect 2, "Cybernetically enhanced and traumatized Humans drift into memories so easily."

She slowly recovers from the first memory-flash I've had in the last three years. "Ok... what was that? You- started talking like you were somewhere else and... your eyes started glowing."

I frown to her for a moment, "My eyes were-?" I shake it off as the reality of the memory makes me shudder again. I lean forwards on the railing, not looking at her, "That was during the Invas- Battle for Armali."

"What- what were you doing there?" She asks softly, almost hesitantly.

I let my eyes wander over the deck as I remember everything again, "A Spectre recruit, Nihlus, myself, and a squad of commandos were retaking an ancient ground to space cannon built back during the Krogan Rebellions. Our mission was to repair it and use it to take out the cruiser bombarding the city in low orbit."

I feel her look down at the ground in confusion, and slight apprehension "Then, what was that... other thing you said? In your head?"

I sigh and look down as I fully lean on the railing, tired now from just thinking about it, "I- don't know. I heard it, many times before the Battle, years before. Afterwards... it just disappeared."

"Isn't it concerning that you were hearing voices in your head?" She stresses rightfully.

I nod slowly, "Yes. I... had it under control, or so I thought. Until then, the most it did to me was psychological. Not physical. That was the first time I-" I sigh and lower my voice. I can feel Keril patiently waiting for me to continue. "I died under that AA cannon. I felt it, but... I woke up, and I fought, and I ended it all." I turn to her to see her watching me with concern, "I broke his hold on me and survived that war to win a decisive victory at Armali. If I hadn't taken the actions I did, there wouldn't have been a foothold for our counter-strikes, and Thessia would have been occupied."

She lowers her head, thinking for a moment before looking back at me, "It was random that you just blurted that out, why?"

I think about it a moment before speaking what I think happened, "I think I was reminded of it by what happened on Erica. Only... I lost that time." I lower my head as I say the last bit quietly in shame.

"No, I failed. You barely made it in time to watch my choices cause the massacre." She sounds conflicted.

I look over the cargo bay, folding my hands behind my back, "We all make choices, sometimes... sometimes they're for the best reasons and still end just as worse. I had as much part in Triton's destruction, that you did anything to try and stop it, stop the invaders, bodes well for your intentions Specialist."

She glares at me, "Fuck your intentions, a hundred thousand people died!"

I glare at her directly, pointing a finger in her face mask, "I know that! I felt every one of their bodies as they drew their last breath! I heard their silent screams into the darkness of the void Keril!"

"Then why? Why do you try and rationalize it?" She pleads, not backing down.

I lower my head and stare at me feet, "Because if I don't... I'll walk down that path again and he'll return." I look at her directly, "I heard the same voice just before I woke from the crash in Aran. That alone pushed me into action. Nothing else mattered as soon as I heard that voice. I knew something horrible would happen, I just-" I feel tears filling my eyes so I push them back, "I never anticipated such slaughter Keril, I never thought something like that would happen."

She places a gloved hand around my arm and squeezes lightly for comfort, "We- we need to make sure this never happens again, you hear me? We find those bastards beyond the Relay and we put an end to their entire existence."

I steel myself and nod to her firmly, "Agreed."

We both lean over the railing again, watching as our shuttle just arrives. I frown in curiosity and look over to her, "Why use a sword?"

She groans audibly and palms her face mask, "Not this again..."

* * *

A/N Welcome Keril to our merry band of- I don't actually know how to finish that sentence... huh. Anyways, Tell me if you liked it, or hated it, or if I missed any grammar error or anything lore related as per the usual! :)

What bigger role will the crew of the Unora play? What will Mein find beyond the lost Relay? Why is Scorpio hearing that strange voice in his head again? Who's Keril? What's happening back on Thessia while Scorpio is away? :) All answered within... maybe two or three chapters at the least. ;) Have a wonderful day everyone!

Who do you think is behind the attack on Erica? I'm curious as always. :)


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